Cherry and Light
by KK1KK2
Summary: Defection, romance, spying, humor, and plausible grammer! Akatsuki   Sakura with a side of KakaSuku too! Rated M for a reason.  Lemons to follow!  How much can one girl handle!  OC as well.
1. Chapter 1 - Revised

For those of you who have been with me, I'm going back through and trying to re-write the first 4 chapters so they're easier to read and less dumb. For you new peeps, please read the following.

Okay, so this is my first fanfiction. I have been with for 9 years now and I figured it was time for me to contribute back. That being said, some ground rules for my own sake and sanity. I accept criticism that is positively constructed and detailed. Please don't flame; it's rude and unnecessary. If you do not like what you read or see, you shouldn't be here and not everything you encounter is going to be pretty or pleasing. As a last note, I know that many people have different tastes about what they would like to see happen and with whom. Please feel free to express your ideas and I will take them into consideration. However, don't bash either. Characters are characters and I can't please everyone. I apologize for not being God (who doesn't please everyone anyway either).

So, the ground rules being established. I would like to introduce you to the plot idea and the overall structure. It's going to be a fic centered around Sakura and her interactions with the Akatsuki organization (also some slight KakaSaku too). There will be multiple, detailed pairings and this fic is rated M for future lemons, language, and some crude humor. Madara and Tobi are one-and-the-same, moreover, I need an antagonist and I pick him. I apologize again to anyone that loves Tobi and/or Madara. He is, unfortunately (or is fortunately?) my least favorite character and therefore, expendable as an ally.

What else do I have to say? Oh yes….beyond having X number of characters, I will also be tossing out one of my own creation. Her name is Kaylina and you will meet her shortly. I hope you like her (I certainly do and I pray she isn't a Mary-sue either).

Without anything else to say or establish, let us begin.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

'_Inners' (Because everyone has one, no matter what they might say on the outside)_

* * *

><p>Walking from the hospital to the Hokage tower gave Sakura 5 minutes to think about why Tsunade had called her from the middle of her hospital shift (right in the middle of a trauma that Sakura had been patching up) and ordered her to come swiftly, silently, and not to worry about going back to work for the rest of the day. Usually when summons like this happened, Shishou would warn Sakura, that somewhere, shit had hit the proverbial fan and that she needed Sakura and Shizune, both as her right handed apprentices, to go and fix whatever, where-ever. Since Sakura was more than a little worn out from the hospital, she welcomed the idea of a mission away for a week or two and hoped fervently that it would be somewhere with a hot spring and massage available and a hot guy to flirt with.<p>

'_Ahhh yes, the male attention is great isn't it?'_

'Shut it Inner, I don't want your perverted images in my head right now.'

'_You enjoy them and you know it. Besides, without me, you wouldn't get any attention at all if I didn't pester you about it'_

'True, but you could be less crude about it, ya know'

'_And what? Leave the operations of trying to attain a date to you? Because you are so successful between work, training, learning, and missions to pay attention to the opposite sex? Don't make me laugh'_

'Still…..they're disturbing.'

'_They are not and it's what happens anyway, better not to be shy and unsure. If you can't be like that on missions, I wouldn't suggest it when you're trying to find a mate.'_

'Kami, we sound like we're pursuing an experiment rather than other human beings.'

'_As far as men are concerned, they are other than human so we might as well conduct it like an experiment'_

'Hardy har har.'

Having reached the door to Tsunade's office, Sakura took a breath to gather herself and her scattered thoughts, before knocking. A sharp "Enter" was heard and Sakura pushed the heavy oak door open.

"Shishou."

"Sakura, glad you could come so quickly. I was worried when I was told you were in the middle of surgery. An embolism correct?"

"Yes, three actually. They were spread though out his body and I was working to decompress him while removing the embolisms as fast as I could so he wouldn't spend hours in the critical unit. Since you called me I turned the operation over to Kie with instructions to call me if things get out of hand. I doubt they will though. He's good at cardiovascular emergencies and he has a steady hand."

"That's good." Tsunade paused looking at her student. "I admire how I have trained you, ya know. You make me proud. I took a lost, confused girl and made her into a fierce kunochi."

Sakura blushed and stared at anything but her mentor's eyes. Tsunade wasn't known for complimenting people (more like turning them into pulp when they earned it) and to hear her say something of this caliber was more than Sakura was expecting. Of course she loved and respected the woman that had turned her into one of the best medics this side of the world, but she also looked to Tsunade as a mother figure as well. Therefore, Sakura craved her approval and worked hard to earn it.

"Thank you, Shishou."

"Hmmmm, well, moving on. There is something I would like to discuss with you Sakura and it's ranked S class."

Sakura's eyes harden and her expression became serious. S class wasn't funny business or something to take lightly and Sakura knew that if Tsunade had called her like this, then Sakura was going to be undertaking a difficult mission. One that Tsunade would only entrust to a few, very close personal friends.

"Alright, let's hear it."

"You know that the Akatsuki organization is a powerful and demented group that has every nation and hidden village on edge. On top of that, no body that I have heard about, talked to, or remotely know, has made a dent in their plans or their members. The ninja world is starving for information on these criminals." Tsunade paused, considering her next words.

"Beyond that, I'm having some difficult issues with the council about what we should be doing. I think another war is coming and I want to step up the rookie 9's training with intensity and diversity. I want weapons to defend this village that are just as deadly and effective as the Akatsuki themselves. On top of that, the council wants Naruto kept to the village for "safety" reasons, but I suspect Danzou is behind it. He understands that Naruto is firmly in my corner and will do everything to see Naruto an outcast once again. Therefore, the plan I'm about to propose should solve quite a bit of problems for me and the village and hopefully it will bear fruit." Tsunade's eyes had a faraway look in them smoldering with anger.

"What I propose, is that you and a partner defect from the village and earn your way into the Akatsuki organization. Right now, there are rumors from every slum and criminal gossip chain that the Akatsuki is seeking more recruits. I want you and another to be those recruits. Kami forbid that criminals that are more dangerous join their ranks without someone gleaning some kind of information about them and their inner workings. If you want to do this, I will give you some last minute training and Ibiki will help prepare you as well. I have no doubt of your skills and I think that you are a sufficient enough ninja to catch the Akatsuki's attention."

Tsunade paused to allow Sakura a chance to absorb this information. The pink-haired woman worked furiously in her mind to figure out how she felt. No matter what, she would do whatever to defend her village, her home, her friends, and her mentor. She also knew that Danzou couldn't care less who he used and how. The issue about Naruto was stunning and made Sakura mad. How can anyone be so blind when the rest of the ninja world was in awe of that man? How ridiculous. Besides that though, how would Sakura defecting help Tsunade step up rookie 9's training?

"How is my defection allowing you to step up rookie 9's training? Is Danzou also interfering with that?"

"Yeah, the council informed me today that they think rookie 9 should begin training younger recruits and taking on more missions to bring in more money. While I don't disagree with income, I find it hard to believe that the council cares about the next generation of ninja when they just blocked a proposal I had made to send the youngsters to Suna for some joint allied training sessions with Suna's up and coming ninjas. It smells something awful of Danzou's melding, the paranoid old fart. If you defect from Konoha, the outrage will allow me to press my idea for intense training of rookie 9 under the guise of keeping them from chasing after you and also to squelch anyone else's ideas of defecting. Not that anyone has any, but it's what I will use against the council. As far as Naruto goes, I will immediately send him with Jiraiya. Jiraiya has been informed about this mission and I have given him permission to explain it to Naruto after they leave."

"Who is to be my partner then?"

Tsunade smiled and her shoulders relaxed just a tad.

"Your partner is an old friend of mine who has helped me become the woman I am today. She and I go so far back, it's almost embarrassing. We both became medics together and developed some of the most impressive jutsus by working together. She is someone that I trust to watch over you and help you while you are competent enough to make her comfortable. You both are perfectly suited for each other and this mission. Her name is Kaylina."

Sakura turned around to find a woman leaning against the door to the office. She was shorter than Sakura's 5'4" height by 3 inches, but she was more built. She seemed to be around her mid-20's. Her long, sandy-blonde hair was up in a ponytail much like Sakura's lengthy pink hair and she wore all black. From her ninja pants, to the socks, to the ninja shoes, to the tank top that also had a mask covering her face except the eyes, everything was black. She had skin as pale as Sakura's own, but while her eyes were a shade of green; they were a bright, almost neon green. Sakura's eyes were the color of a leaf in the summer time and complimented her pink hair color. Much the same way, this woman's eyes and hair also matched. Sakura inwardly sighed as she noted that the woman's bust was bigger than her own B-32's. Not that Sakura was surprised as most women had a bigger bust than her, but she was once again reminded that she was the chairman of the itty-bitty-titty-committee and would be for the rest of her life (unless Tsunade sprung randomly for Sakura to have breast implants which Sakura had considered a few times when her boobs were made fun of .)

"I'm Kaylina. I've heard a lot about you from Tsunade and I'm pleased to finally meet you in person."

"Sakura, and I'm pleased to meet you as well."

"Tsunade tells me that she taught you her super strength and all of our medical knowledge."

"Yes, she did. I'm still learning though. It seems every time I turn around Shishou is kicking my ass in medical expertise over something. If I turn out half the woman she is, I'll count myself lucky."

Kaylina let out a laugh that sounded like tinkling chimes. Sakura realized that she liked Kaylina and wouldn't have a problem working with her. There was something about Kaylina that was relaxing and open. Like you could just sit down, pop a soda, and talk to her all night about whatever and she would enjoy the company and the talk too.

Kaylina looked at Sakura and grinned. Tsunade hadn't been lying when she described Sakura as a peaceful soul and beautiful on the inside and out. Kaylina felt a small regret at being shorter once again, but she reflected that she had never met anyone shorter than herself in all her 50+ years. At least she didn't look old and she had definitely liked Sakura off the bat. Knowing Tsunade, this kid would kick ass easily and Kaylina felt a small worry dissipate to the air.

"Well, now that you two have met. Let me further explain the details of this mission to both of you. Beyond integrating yourselves into the Akatsuki organization, you must win the individual member's affection and trust. What I ultimately want you to do, is to spread doubt about their goals and plant ideas of defection. I know it's a long shot, but I certainly don't want either of you trying to kill the members off since we have more than enough evidence of how well that idea works. By becoming close with these dangerous men, you will have a precious opportunity to obtain personal information about them. On top of that, figure out the ritual they use to extract the tailed demons and come up with an alternative that allows the host to survive. We can gain precious allies if we can save the people who are currently vessels. I don't want you girls to compromise yourselves for this mission, but I do want those men to be brought down. I leave how you go about accomplishing this factor up to you individually. This mission will be the longest either of you have ever undertaken and you have up to 5 years to see this through. If things even look close to falling apart, abandon the mission ASAP and return to Konoha. Your lives are more valuable to us here, when you're alive, then dead in a ditch somewhere else."

"So hearing all of this, do you Kaylina and you, Sakura, formally accept this mission? Are there any questions?"

Kaylina and Sakura stood side by side and each lost in her own thoughts. This could be as intense as ever and the chances of success weren't high. However, most S ranked missions never looked good, involved a great deal of personal risk with low stats on survival and both women knew in their hearts that if they could pull this off, the world would be a significant margin safer than before.

"Tsunade-sama, I accept this mission." Sakura stated simply with a hard look in her eye and her chin held high. On the inside, she was worried and slightly overwhelmed with the task she was undertaking, but if her mentor thought she could do it, than she could. Plain and simple.

"Old friend, you owe me a bottle of sake when I get back and some new pieces of the jewelry I love so much. Yeah, I'm in solid and will kick ass for you as always."

Tsunade beamed a smile at her friend and close-enough-daughter. A weight in her heart was lifted even if a different worry took its place for safety of the two before her. Tsunade reminded herself that she didn't have anyone else to trust with something like this and there weren't a lot of qualified candidates to boot.

"Glad to hear it. Go home for the night and rest. We have two weeks before I want you to set out. Also the next few days up to your departure will be filled with pure training. Don't bother going to work. Just report here tomorrow morning and Kakashi will explain and help you practice how you're actually going to defect from the village."

With that, Kaylina and Sakura bowed to their Hokage and exited the office. Tsunade sat back in her chair and thought about what was going to happen.

* * *

><p>"So Sakura, you ready for the adventure of your life?" Kaylina asked.<p>

"Yeah actually. I'm nervous and a little bit overwhelmed, but I think we can do this. We are going to have be extremely careful right before we meet the Akatsuki and right after we're accepted into the organization, I think. They're hardened, S-class criminals who scare just about everyone in this world witless. I can't imagine they trust easily and they will have their own personality quirks that we have to contend with as well…"

Sakura trailed off as she began to think about what she needed to do and how to go about doing it. Kaylina smiled softly and silently agreed with Sakura.

"First things first, kiddo, we have to gather all the information we know about the Akatsuki. If we're going to be willing recruits we have to act like it and showing up not knowing a damn thing isn't going to look very convincing….or we could flash them, I suppose….."

"Flash them?!" Sakura turned to Kaylina, gaping and slightly shocked to hear the woman cracking a joke about the mission. "You may have not noticed, but I'm not rockin' in the bust department. And I don't want to get raped my first day on the job either." She shot back.

"Good point, that would be awkward. On the brightside, I strongly suspect they are good looking men. That's an added bonus!" Kaylina chirped. She was silently pleased that Sakura was fast thinking on her feet and could banter. It would help to have someone around who could joke and tease just as easily as Kaylina herself could.

'_Finally! Another woman who understands me! Stick with her hon, and we'll be laid in no time! After a year of deprivation, I'm ready for some hot action!'_

'Good Lord Inner! This woman beside me maybe a virgin for all we know! And I don't need to be reminded of Tsai, thank you very much. I hope that bastard falls off a cliff.'

'_You and me both sweetheart. On another note, I've been wondering something. Tsunade said that Kaylina and her go way back, but does Kaylina look 50+ to you?'_

'Good point, she doesn't. Should I ask?'

'_Might as well, you have to get to know her if you're going to be working with her for the next few years.'_

'Kay.'

"Hey Kaylina? May I ask you a question? It's a personal question, I don't mean to be rude, you can totally refuse if you want!" Sakura squeaked at the end and waved her hands in a frantic, but placating gesture.

"Go head."

'This kid is adorable when she does that. She clearly doesn't want to offend me.'

'_Ya think? The kid just learned that you and Tsu go way back. She most definitely has figured_ _out that you could kick her ass royally if you're anything like Tsu.'_

'Shut the fuck up inner and don't make me hurt you. I'm not going to scare the kid. I'm supposed to guide and watch out for her.'

'_Yeah, because you're a stellar influence, tch…'_

"How old are you? Tsunade said that you and her go way back, but you don't look a day over 25 if I'm any judge"

"You caught me. I'm actually 56, but I have a better handle on the same jutsu that Tsu uses to keep myself looking younger. We decided a long time ago we didn't want to feel our age, much less show it, and it confuses people to boot." Kaylina chuckled that tinklely laugh again.

"Ahhh that explains it."

"Yep. Say Sakura, how old are you?"

"I just turned 20."

"Oh really? So you can go to a bar right? Can I buy you a drink before this ridiculous mission starts?"

Sakura let out a laugh. Yeah, she would definitely enjoy working with Kaylina.

"Sure, there's a bar I know just down from my apartment that serves the best mixed drinks this side of Fire country."

"Let's go and we'll toast to the start of an adventure and a friendship."

"Sounds good!"

* * *

><p>The next morning….<p>

'_OMG! WE ARE TOTALLY SCREWED!'_

'Shut up inner, please! This headache is a killer, we are late for our meeting with Tsunade and I still feel slightly sick from last night! I should have known that Kaylina could put it away just like Shishou!'

'_Well, I don't think Kaylina's doing any better than you cupcake. At least you didn't throw up_ _like she did.'_

'Hmmm, then again, I didn't take straight shots of everything the bar had to offer either!'

'_Yeah, pretty impressive. Anyways, move it lead-butt or we're going to get pounded, headache_ _or not!'_

'I'm going! I'm going!'

Sakura burst from her front door and tore across the roof tops, knowing that being 30 minutes late was a good excuse for an ass kicking. Hopefully, Tsunade would remember that Sakura was very, very rarely late and could forgive her this once. Kaylina, on the other hand, hadn't bothered to budge from Sakura's couch yet…

'_I hate you.'_

'Good morning to you too sunshine! I'm so glad you're here to help make this headache worse! Remind me why I allow you to exist?'

'_Because without me, you would be a dead woman who doesn't know when to quit while she's ahead of herself and not over indulge in things like drinking.'_

'Ah, yes, the kill joy. Remind me how I have ever been able to have fun with you hanging around.'

'_You have fun because I help you limit yourself and not burn out from over exposure to "fun". Now heal this damn headache, get your lazy ass up, and make sure Tsu doesn't beat the kid for your stupidity. Kami save that child from you and your bad influence.'_

Kaylina groaned and rolled off the couch. She found that Sakura had already fled the premise and proceeded to follow. She might be one of Tsunade's oldest friends, but that didn't excuse being late or the sound ass kicking that might ensue.

"By the love of the first! Have you no respect for your betters! I told you yesterday to get into my office THIS MORNING so that we could get on with the plan! I don't recall anything about drinking to the wee hours of the morning, getting sick, being late, and encouraging that my apprentice do the same! You are 56 years of age, dammit! Act your age, not your height!"

Kaylina winced as every word beat on her poor head! Oh yeah, this is why she shouldn't have been out drinking or at least late to the office this morning. Tsunade and her temper would never change.

"I apologize Tsu. I figured Sakura and I could bond like woman over a couple glasses of wine. I guess we got carried away….."

Tsunade flopped back into her chair. "Yes, well, why don't you heal Sakura's symptoms and she'll heal yours? This way, you both get your first feel for each other and we can get on with the day's work." She huffed.

After Kaylina and Sakura relieved each other of their hangovers and various symptoms, Kakashi popped in to instruct them in their pseudo-defection. They would set fire to a number of important structures for a diversion, not that the fires would be serious, but enough to make ANBU jumpy and take action. They then would "threaten" the Hokage herself, steal some forbidden medical jutsu scrolls (which were completely fake) and then beat the hell out of Kakashi himself when he made an attempt to stop them.

Sakura blinked at that last part and looked up into his face.

"I don't want to beat you."

"You don't have a choice. I'm smart enough to figure out what's going on, part of ANBU, and I'll be posted on gate duty on the appointed day. If I just let you walk by, things look awkward for me and no one can guess the real idea behind this. You must truly appear to defect or the Akatsuki will know something is up."

"Kakashi…."

"Don't worry Sakura-chan, I promise I won't hit hard either."

"You are such a jerk."

Even though Sakura called him a jerk, she still smiled, knowing that it would be okay despite her reservations about whom she would be hitting. He smiled under his mask and continued with the explanations. They were to book it as fast as they possibly could to the border of Fire and then cross into Rain. Reports indicated that the Akatsuki were concentrated around that area so that would be the best place for Sakura and Kaylina to begin.

"And one more thing ladies. To add to this grand deception, you're going to have to cut across your headbands. Rest assured that you will receive new ones when you return, but this needs to be done before we even stage the fires."

Kaylina fingered her headband which was tied around her head, much like Sakura's was. This same headband had been with her since her days at the Academy. It had even deflected a kunai once. As scratched, dented, and chipped as it was, she was unhappy to fully disfigure something that represented the years of work and service she had given leaf.

Sakura was also thinking about her headband. She had kept Sasuke's band after he had left Konoha and she even had one from Naruto. To mar her own was something she hadn't thought about and it made her sad. This symbol represented her home and her allegiance.

After the meeting with Kakashi, Ibiki came next and began to instruct them in the arts of deception, concealment, psychological torture and survival, and manipulation. By the end of the two weeks, both Sakura and Kaylina retained the skills needed to help them work through the Akatsuki organization and implant seeds of doubt while keeping personal information to themselves. Tsunade and Kaylina helped Sakura perfect some complex healing jutsus and taught her how to store extra chakra behind a small mark of personal choosing anywhere on the body.

Sakura choose a small star to sit right below her breasts, just on the bottom lip of her sternum. Kaylina had hers on her hip while Tsunade retained the one on her forehead. On top of that training, Kakashi helped to create the special solvent that would burn like fire, but wouldn't spread rapidly or burn that hot. He also taught a variety of different elemental techniques to aid them, both in any scenario they might find themselves in and to appeal even more to the Akatsuki. Those two weeks were intense and exhausting, but also rewarding. Not only did Sakura feel more confident, but Tsunade felt less insecure about her friend's and apprentice's safety. Kaylina learned how capable Sakura really was and entrusted her safety to Sakura without reservation.

* * *

><p>Soon the night for the staged defection came about. That night, Sakura and Kaylina sat in Sakura's living room, packing last minute scrolls with extra supplies, going over the plan for night for the umpteenth time, and trying to eat something before setting out. Sakura finished packing first and considered that she might have one too many kunai forcibly jammed into the bulging pack. She then shook her head and repeated the age old mantra, better to be prepared and safe, then caught unawares and sorry. Kaylina was thinking along the same lines as she too stuffed as much weaponry as possible on top of the tremendous supply of medical equipment. In truth, both women found comfort in these basic routines as the night weighed heavy on their hearts and minds.<p>

"I hope Kakashi wears extra shin and arm guards. I'm upset at having to hurt him."

"Don't worry Sakura, he definitely can handle himself. Besides, I won't be hitting hard either. That man is too sexy to dent and I want to date him when we get back. Best not to leave the last impression of myself as having punched his lights out, ya know?"

Sakura cracked a smile and shook her head. After two weeks of training beside Kaylina, she had learned that the older woman's mind was often in the gutter and she flirted shamelessly with any male she found attractive.

"By the way, what is the deal between you two? I noticed that Kakashi seemed really over-protective of you and he made damn sure you knew every jutsu he could throw at us."

"Yeah…..he once told me that he regretted how much attention he had paid to training Naruto and Sasuke and leaving me to fend for myself. After Sasuke left and I had apprenticed to Tsunade, he started coming around more to "make it up" to me and I guess he just hasn't quit."

Sakura blushed slightly at the memory. Kakashi hadn't just wanted to make up for lost time; he had confessed to Sakura that he was somewhat attracted to her and would like to spend more time in her company. While not unused to the occasional confession of infatuation that came from being 20, beautiful (so she was told), talented, and a medical ninja; Sakura had been flabbergasted! Her mouth had dropped open and Kakashi had promptly told her that she resembled a fish when she did that and she had responded with a well laid punch to the gut that bent him over. Since then, they had hung out at her apartment and gotten along companionably.

Seeing the slight blush on Sakura's face, Kaylina understood instantly that there was a small potential seed of romance and wished it would bloom for Sakura. In the two weeks that Kaylina had been with Sakura, she had learned that Sakura had a temper to rival Tsunade's and that the she cared deeply for friends, family, and the village. Kaylina was also surprised to learn that Sakura was not, in fact, a virgin and had the standard 'he strung me along and dumped me' story that most women go through at some point. Kaylina had her own, but it was so far back she had forgotten the name of the poor bastard (which might have been for the better, since Kaylina was known for anger as well). Therefore, Sakura deserved better and a chance at romance even though it was a rare and special luxury for any shinobi.

Glancing at the clock (11:30 pm, fyi), Kaylina realized it was time to put their plan into action.

"Here we go kid. Remember to set fire to the wing of the hospital that has no patients and the corner of the local food mart. I'll be running around setting fire to electrical plant, the monument, and the Academy. We have to meet in front of the Hokage tower precisely at 12:00."

"I know. Did you remember to cut your headband?"

"I did, but I don't like it." A grimace of distaste flashed crossed Kaylina's face.

"Neither do I but it doesn't matter. 12:00 at the Hokage tower, 12:15 at the front gate, beat Kakashi within approximately 5 minutes and then we run like hell."

"Yep, yep. Let's move."

With that, the girls slung their packs across their backs, turned off the lights, locked the front door, and sprinted in opposite directions. Soon alarm bells could be heard urging anyone within earshot to help suppress fire and save property. Smoke was seen curling into the night sky and cries for water and sand stretched across the night. ANBU were scattered around attempting to track the arsonists.

Abruptly, the Hokage tower on the top floor burst apart as two figures dashed away. Tsunade stood there bellowing for the "traitors" to get back there and explain themselves and what the hell they thought they were doing! The dark streaks darted towards the gates were Kakashi engaged them both and was soundly whipped for his troubles. People stared in disbelief around them as the whole thing took less than an hour for utter chaos to follow. And the worst part was the whispered question, "Was that really Sakura who I saw?"

* * *

><p>Alright! There is chapter one! Up and running! I hope you enjoyed and if you see something amiss, please inform me. I work to improve all the time, but outside opinions are the best way to see what's wrong.<p>

I really don't have an update schedule down so I won't promise what I can't deliver. Besides that, I also don't know what the average length of the chapters will be.

I apologize if any part moved too fast or wasn't well explained, again, please let me know.

I ought to stop writing at this point because I'm sure I'm making stupid mistakes.

I will also try to incorporate more humor. I understand this wasn't very funny, but I figured I best be serious about the plot and the characters first, then lighten things up down the road.

Reviews are good things, so I have read, but don't really know since this is my first fanfiction. Let's give it a whirl, hmmmm? Maybe you'll like reviewing and I'll like reading the reviews – could be a beautiful relationship.


	2. Chapter 2 - Revised

Okay, so here is chapter 2. I hope you enjoy and thank you to both 17child-of-the-moon17 and Akatsuki-kitten1 for you generous reviews! I was really excited to see such positive feedback so quickly.

* * *

><p>Running as fast as possible, both Sakura and Kaylina left the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Pushing chakra into their legs and hips, the women sped out towards the border of Fire country hoping that they could out-strip the ANBU they could sense behind them.<p>

Finally, after a few days and what seemed liked hours of endless running, the ANBU signatures faded behind them and the girls decided that a brief resting period was in order. They would be hurting soon from the rate they had been pushing and knew better than to ignore the warnings of the human body. Stopping by a small brook sheltered by large trees, the packs were dropped aching muscles stretched on the forest floor.

"Please tell me we have time to rest." Sakura was rubbing the back of her calves and running green chakra through her legs to sooth the overused muscles. Kaylina was beside her, less hurting, but still massaging her own legs with chakra as well.

"Those signatures are gone so I think we're safe." Kaylina sighed as her aches faded.

"Hey Kaylina, we're close to the border between Fire and Rain. Do you want to push to make it to the nearest town or camp out tonight?"

"Let's push for town. I doubt that anyone this far north has yet heard of two defecting medics, but just in case, let's pull out those black cloaks we packed and keep our hair out of sight. Well….okay, your hair pinky; mine's okay. Also, refrain from using your chakra as much as possible till we know what our next moves are going to be. We don't want to promote our location before we can be sure that the Akatsuki are around."

Sakura sighed wistfully thinking that once again, her hair wasn't an average shade. Yes, there are red heads and various shades thereof, but pink? Not even Kaylina had seen a ninja with pink hair before meeting Sakura. It reminded her of peony flowers; the soft shade that grew naturally.

"Okay, let's rest for 5 more minutes and then we can go."

The ladies finished rubbing their legs down, grabbed the cloaks they needed, and continued northward. By the time the sun had begun to set, they came to a small town that was tucked into the side of a hill and protected by the dense forest on one side. Both Sakura and Kaylina agreed that a hotel with a warm shower was needed and two comfy beds to pass out in.

Finding an inn that was relatively inexpensive, Kaylina let Sakura have first go at that bathroom while she unpacked a few things and set about some basic chores; fixing broken zippers, picking out clean clothes, switching out ninja socks for ones that didn't reek. Stuff like that. Soon Sakura exited the bathroom feeling refreshed and hungry.

While Kaylina took her turn, Sakura donned her cloak and went downstairs to the tiny restaurant to find food and listen for any gossip concerning two missing and wanted medics. Hearing nothing, she returned to the room with two plates full of delicious looking food just as Kaylina stepped out of the bathroom.

"Hey, I grabbed us some food so you should come and eat. Also, I listened for any rumors pertaining to us and I didn't hear anything. Though I did hear that a pair of Akatsuki swept through town about a week and half ago. From the descriptions, I'm guessing it might have been Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. If we can follow the rumors, we potentially can find them."

Kaylina turned this information over in her mind. One thing she wanted to know was whether any particular pair from the organization frequented this town. If so, then Sakura and her could stay here and wait. If not, then they would have to rely on word of mouth routes to try and catch up to any particular pair floating around.

"Hmmm, we have to figure out if they visit this town often. I don't want to broadcast the idea that we're looking for the Akatsuki in such a way that we get killed before we can even talk to one of the members. I'm certain that some people around here are loyal and will consider us a threat if we don't talk carefully."

"Yeah, I had the same thoughts and refrained from asking if the group that was seen would be back anytime soon. On the flipside, I let the guy I was talking to see that my headband had been cut across so I hope that he at least understood I'm a missing nin. Maybe that will get back to the Akatsuki." Sakura shrugged her shoulders and continued to eat while pondering exactly how they were to get their names out to the Akatsuki as potential recruits.

Kaylina chewed thoughtfully and decided that tomorrow morning would be a better time to observe the town and its people. One thing that Kaylina wanted to start flaunting was that Sakura and herself were medics. She knew that any town without the immediate protection and benefits of a bigger village would rely mostly on doctors passing through which meant there was never a shortage of work. By working with the locals, she would be able to hear more gossip and to promote the guise of missing-nins looking for new prospects.

"Sakura, tomorrow I think you and I should start our mission by helping the locals with our medical skills. I think that if we can insinuate ourselves into the local populace, even for a short time, we will be better able to hear pieces of information and we can pacify some suspicion of not being who we actually aren't…you know….fake defectors."

Sakura laughed quietly and nodded her agreement. After finishing their dinner, the girls retired to their beds and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Morning came bright and early, as only morning can and the girls woke up from force of long habit. Signing, they got ready in plain, non-descript clothes and their cloaks. They walked out from the hotel onto the main boulevard that bisected the town and began looking for some kind of indication of the local medicine man or at least a gathering place for those injured to seek help.<p>

Instead, they found a small side section of a store selling herbs dedicated to helping those who were sick or wounded. There was one room that had a cot, a chair, and a shabby, swinging light hanging over head. A desk pushed up against the opposite wall of the bed was barren. Very professional and all, don't ya know?

The owner of the store was named Tzuo and he explained that he had some amount of medical knowledge but only enough to cover scratches and bring down fevers from colds. Granted, they didn't have major accidents often, but it was difficult and long to travel to the nearest village, Village Hidden in the Rain, to find medics for anything less.

"Well, my partner and I are in town for awhile and we would like to offer our skills. My name is Kaylina and this is Sakura. We are fully trained medics that have defected from Konoha and we'll work in exchange for shelter and food."

"Hmmmm, I see. I would like to see some of your skills. Anyone can claim they're a medic, but it's different if you can prove it." Tzuo spoke gruffly and tried to appear intimidating. The truth was, both Sakura and Kaylina could see he was will into his 60's despite still being fit and the act was mostly an attempt to protect himself and others.

"I understand. Do you have someone available that we can help or do we have to wait?"

Tzuo hesitated. Ai's little girl was sick with a high fever, chills, weakness, and some kind of rash that was slowly spreading all over her body. He had given Ai some herbs for free in hopes that they would help the symptoms and ease the girl's suffering, but it had been 3 days. He told Ai if that Rika wasn't better by tomorrow, he would make the journey to Amegakure to seek help.

Tzuo looked at Sakura and Kaylina. He saw two women in the 20's who were attractive and had kind looking eyes. He thought that it was odd for missing ninjas to have kind eyes, but he reflected that they may have only recently defected so they wouldn't have had time to obtain the hard, cold look he had often seen in other missing nins. Besides, if they proved to be dangerous he would send a bird requesting the aid of the Akatsuki and that would solve any problem these two might present.

"No, you don't have to wait. There is a local little girl who is sick with something I haven't come across. She has a fever, chills, general weakness, and some kind of rash that is slowly spreading across the body. I gave the mom some of my herbs to help with the kid's discomfort, but all they do is reduce the fever for a few hours and slow down the rash. You can start with that. The kid's name is Rika and her mom is Ai. They live down the street above the clothing store that Ai runs. I'll walk down with you."

Sakura nodded to Kaylina and they followed Tzuo out the door where he closed his shop. Walking down the street gave them an opportunity to look observe the town. There were stalls selling fruits, vegetables, grains, fish, and meat product while the stores that sat behind sold clothes, jewelry, tools, weapons, pottery, and various other items. Over all the town was small, but well to do and it seemed that it was centered on a major trading route into Amegakure to boot. This would be a perfect means to start their research and find the Akatsuki.

They reached the clothing store that Ai ran and walked in. Tzuo took Ai aside and explained who and what Sakura and Kaylina were. Ai looked first suspicious and distrusting, but then gave a second glance when Tzuo kept talking. She saw a young 20 something ninja that looked open and friendly with pink hair of all things, and a slightly older ninja with sandy blonde hair that seemed to be an old, peaceful soul. Tzuo assured Ai that Sakura and Kaylina were here to help Rika and quietly told Ai that if trouble ensued, he would send for the Akatsuki and they would deal with the two strangers. Ai finally consented and asked Sakura and Kaylina to come up stairs.

"Please understand that my daughter is only 5 years old and I would ask that you treat her with the utmost gentle care you possibly can. The rash hurts to be touched and inflames when handled too much."

"When did you noticed that Rika seemed off or sick?" Kaylina asked.

"About 2 days before the rash showed up. She didn't want to play outside and she didn't want to eat anything. She looked pale and sweaty. That brings the total amount of days she's been sick to 7."

"Hmmm, have you been able to get fluids into her?"

"A bit, but I'm worried that it's too little."

They entered the room that was the little girls' and saw a pale child resting under a light quilt. Kaylina walked over and sat down on the chair that was beside the bed. Sakura pulled back the cover and Rika stirred.

"Hey kid, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked gently as she placed green flowing chakra hands on the kid's head and stomach.

"Hmm, I'm okay." Rika spoke softly and weakly and her eyes remained closed.

Sakura checked her systems and vital signs. She noticed that Rika was dehydrated, low on nutrients, and that she was suffering from rubella. Wiping her chakra through the kid's systems, Sakura cleaned out the virus and forced the rash to recede. She then eased the internal temperature back to normal. Rika sighed and opened her eyes.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah, are you a ninja?" Asked Rika as only an inquisitive, non-self-preserving 5 year old can ask.

Sakura laughed. "Yeah, I'm a ninja."

"That is so cool! And you're a pretty ninja too!" Rika squealed in delight in that cute, unbearable way that only 5 year olds can.

Sakura laughed again and ruffled the kid's hair. Ai was happy and felt more comfortable around the two missing-ninja.

"Rika needs a lot of fluids over the next couple of days and some rich food. Most of her systems are still going to be recovering from the illness even though I wiped it out. The rash is gone and so is the fever. I would say that by the end of the week, she'll be out playing with the other kids."

"Thank you both so much for you help. I was worried that we would have to travel to Amegakure to find some help. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do for you."

Kaylina turned towards Tzuo and asked that if he could spread the word about her and Sakura. Anyone with any problem was welcome to seek them out for treatment and they would be staying at the inn down the street from his store.

* * *

><p>Two weeks passed in which Sakura and Kaylina were kept busy with helping the local populace. In that time they learned that the Akatsuki were respected this close to Amegakura and that the town's people depended on them for protection and help.<p>

It was surprising to the two women to hear that the Akatsuki protected anyone at all. From all accounts of those who had been allowed to survive battle, the members were ruthless, powerful, and something to be feared. Also from the women that lived in town, the members were good looking and most were convinced that they lived outlandish lives and had secret affairs with powerful kunochi.

During that time, Sakura and Kaylina gained a kind of trust from the locals. It was to such an extent that it was Tzuo who visited them at the inn and told them one day that a couple of the Akatsuki were headed into town and if they wanted to disappear, he wouldn't be informing the pair of where they went. Sakura felt extremely grateful towards the man, but looked to Kaylina for a response.

"We have no problem with the Akatsuki. Since we are ninja without a homeland, we hold no ties or alliances. If this pair asks about us, please don't put yourself in a compromised position. Tell them what they want to know and even bring them here if they insist on meeting us."

When Tzuo left the room, Sakura turned to Kaylina.

"Do you think this is it? Will we be given an opportunity to explain ourselves and ask to join?"

"I have no clue. I hope that this pair is reasonable and willing to listen. I would prefer to deal with someone who is calm and level headed so that we can fully explain. If they become hostile, we may have to fight in such a way as to prove that we are capable ninja without appearing weak. We would have to peak their interest and that's difficult when you're trying to brain someone." Kaylina let out a derisive snort at the thought.

The girls sat in their room that day and waited.

"Fuck you Kakuzu. I hate you and will sacrifice you to Jashin one day you heathen fucker." Hidan spoke in a more drawled, relaxed tone. He was too hot to make good on his threat and he didn't want Kakuzu to rip his head off again. It wasn't the pain that bugged him; it was the hours that Kakuzu would leave his head in the middle of the road while he went to collect a bounty or harass some poor individual for money. On top of that, Kakuzu hadn't done or said anything to prompt the comment either so Hidan knew better than to push his luck.

Kakuzu closed his eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day alone. Hidan was too hot even though he had removed his shirt and wore his cloak almost completely unbuttoned. He was just complaining like a 5 year-old to spread the misery around. Why did he have to be immortal? Why? Kakuzu counted back from 100 in his head and reminded himself that excessive stress wasn't good for anyone's health.

"Hidan, I understand that you are hot and cranky like a child, but please act like the adult you're supposed to be. If you can't shut your mouth till we get to town, I'll stitch it shut for you."

Hidan glared at Kakuzu and remained silent. They were about an hour from a little town that straddled a trade route into Amegakure and Pein wanted them to see if there was word about some potential recruits. Surprisingly, Pein had told them that if they were to find someone who they thought would be a good candidate, they were to engage them in combat, test their skills, and if the potential recruit mustered up, knock them out and return to base with them.

So far, Hidan and Kakuzu had encountered 3 potential ninja and had killed all 3. One death had been on accident when Hidan had swung his scythe a second after Kakuzu had used his threads to immobilize the guy. Hidan had taken the guy's head off and Kakuzu had ripped Hidan's head off for being an impulse, insufferable idiot who hadn't been paying attention to what Kakuzu had been doing and consequently cost them a new recruit.

As they neared the town, they were greeted by the owner of the best inn available and were given a room free of charge. Not that any owner would demand payment from Kakuzu, but the display of generosity helped to smooth things over a bit. Hidan immediately jumped into a shower saying that a cold rinse was just what the doctor ordered while Kakuzu left for the main lounge and sat at the bar. He asked the bar tender if anyone interesting had been in town.

Said bar tender informed (read babbled) Kakuzu about the two missing nin medics and how wonderful they had been since being here. He went on to describe the variety of illness and injuries the two women healed with ease, how good looking they were, how kind they had been, and how sad it was to see such young souls on their own like that.

'The Akatsuki are in need of medics. I can only stitch people back together and I would rather not have to.' Kakuzu mused to himself.

"Where are these women staying?"

"They're down the main boulevard at the inn, sir, and another thing. They're from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, but they defected. Their headbands are slashed."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, sir. They confirm it themselves and they say that they have no problems with the Akatsuki."

"Thanks for the info, Hami."

"No problem sir, glad to be of service. Would you and Hidan like your meals brought to your room sir, or will you be dining in the hall?"

"Our room will be fine."

"Yes sir."

Kakuzu left the bar to return to the room to inform Hidan. His mind was churning with the information and he felt that he should meet the two missing ninja himself. If for nothing else, they might be in the bingo book and an easy bounty had no excuse to be missed.

Hidan was out of the shower and lounging on the bed when Kakuzu walked in.

"There are two missing medic ninja from the leaf village here in town. I want to meet them and see if they're potential recruits or bounties."

"From leaf? That's a long ass away. Why the fuck come to Rain? There are better prospects over by Wave for medic work."

"I intend to ask them."

"Are they guys or girls this time?"

"What does it matter? We'll kill them regardless if they aren't what we're after."

Kakuzu had sat down on the edge of other bed and regarded Hidan with strange eyes of red and green.

"It fuckin' matters to me stitch-ass. If they're bitches, I wanna know if they're hot."

"Because you're so attractive right?"

"FUCK YOU ASSHOLE!" Hidan bellowed. He hated when Kakuzu wouldn't answer a simple question and instead, taunted him.

"We both know I'm attractive and infinitely better looking than you'll ever be shit-head."

"Yeah, okay, believe whatever helps you sleep at night you loud mouth prick."

With this lovely exchange of words that oozed friendship, the two stopped talking and waited for dinner to arrive. Once done consuming their meal, Hidan fell asleep and Kakuzu went to shower. After his shower, he too went to bed thinking about meeting the two mysterious shinobi first thing in the morning.

* * *

><p>Kaylina and Sakura woke up the next morning to a frantic Tzuo informing them that two Akatsuki members were downstairs and requested their immediate presence.<p>

"Please hurry. Hidan and Kakuzu aren't patient and if there is going to be a fight, I don't want it in the town."

"Calm down. Please inform them that we just woke up and will be with them shortly."

Once the door closed behind Tzuo, Kaylina jumped up and stuffed the various scrolls and items back into their respective places. Thankfully, Sakura and her were tidy so there wasn't much to pick up.

"Kaylina, this duo is reported to be the most aggressive of all the pairs known. Hidan is supposedly immortal and Kakuzu has some sort of jutsu that keeps him alive way beyond normal standards. Moreover, both stand out for their cruelty in battle and their greed. I don't think this is the group that I want to talk to about joining the Akatsuki organization. They don't sound like they'll listen or remain level headed."

"I agree, but we don't have a choice. We're lucky we have a group here in town to talk to at all. Beggars can't be choosers."

"Fuck. Okay, well, if it comes to fighting, I'll take Hidan and you can have Kakuzu. From what I read, that'll be the best match up for our survival. I would also suggest separating them such that we're in the middle of the battle field and their on opposite ends."

"Not a bad idea Sakura. Alright let's move it, remember what Ibiki taught us to say and how. This moment is critical I feel and we can't blow it."

Kaylina and Sakura slowly walked downstairs to the main lobby. Hidan wolfed whistled seeing that the two women were in fact very good looking. Sakura glared at him, but remained silent. Kakuzu sized them up and felt for their chakra strength. Nothing surprising from the pink-haired girl, but the blonde had quite a bit of chakra, almost enough to rival himself.

"Good morning. I'm Kaylina and this is Sakura. I understand that you wished to speak with us?" Kaylina raised a slim eyebrow at Kakuzu. He was amused to see that she deferred to him rather than Hidan. Usually girls around Hidan's age addressed him first and then Kakuzu, but this one seemed to be ignoring the Jashinist. Potentially it might have had something to do with the wolf whistle. He also liked the way she wore her face mask. It made her eyes almost glow, the way his did.

"We have heard that you two are medics new to town."

"We are." 'And water is wet', Kaylina thought.

Silence stretched out and the pregnant pause became awkward. Kaylina broke it by asking, "Is there a problem?"

Kakuzu blinked, realizing he had dropped the conversation while he had been silently conversing with Pein. Pein had given him the go-ahead to test the medics and see if they were up to par.

"No bitch. Not unless you start one." Hidan smirked. He had heard what Pein had said and was eager to fight. Sakura stiffened further detesting the man before her and the way he talked to them. She felt her temper starting to rise.

"Hidan, shut up."

"Fuck you Kakuzu." Kaylina cut in before they began to fight each other.

"Look gentlemen, if you're just here to verify what and who we are, I'm sure we can satisfy any amount of questioning you have within reason. If not, then I would ask you to leave us alone. We have patients to see this morning and we're not here to fight."

When Kakuzu didn't respond, Sakura and Kaylina gathered their stuff and made for the door. It was just as Kaylina had pulled the door open that both women felt more than saw the kunai thrown at their backs. Dodging to opposite sides, they spun around and faced the two men who were on their feet.

"You will leave when I tell you to." Kakuzu's voice was cold and bored. He wanted to get out into the open, not tear down an inn that might claim damage fees against Pein. The two women quickly glanced at each other and then darted away. The pink-haired once, Sakura, he recalled, darted up the stairs they had come down earlier and Hidan went after her. He was left facing Kaylina who darted out the door and down the street. He pursued, slightly interested to see that she was fast on her feet and had a nice butt. Not that he cared or anything, he was just making an observation.

They came to the edge of the forest that protected the town and gained appropriate distance from each other. Kaylina had focused her blue chakra into her hands and shaped it like blades. She also had prepared two shadow clones; one that was already under the ground and another transformed into a kunai on her belt. Kakuzu released threads from his arms and sent half straight towards the woman while the other half punched underground and shot towards her.

She darted around the bunch sent at her chest and pushed off the ground having been informed by the disappearing clone underneath what was coming a split second before her legs would have been entangled. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes and tried again by spreading his threads a greater distance and adding more to the withering mass already attacking the kunochi.

She was managing to block his attacks and had even thrown a few blades back at him. Woo-hoo. Kaylina glanced down at Kakuzu and smiled underneath her mask. Kakuzu was surrounded by kunai that she had thrown and had dismissed them for being blades. Little did he know, that the one blade that had landed to the left and behind him was actually her shadow clone and a few other blades had paper bombs rolled around the handles. Kaylina called to Kakuzu to distract him from her release of her clone.

"You seem pretty agile for an old man. Let know if you need a break or something. I wouldn't want to wear you or anything."

Kakuzu resented being called an old man. Yes he was in his 90's but the jutsu he used preserved everything about his body but his heart. In truth he was a 90 year old man, stuck in a 28 year old body that didn't age. His temper was rising and he pushed his attacks to be faster and more brutal.

Suddenly, the paper bombs rolled around the kunai handles went off sending Kakuzu flying up into the air while twisting around. He was then promptly kicked back into Mother Earth by a blonde ninja. As he lay there, he realized what she had done and resolved to keep those blades away from himself the remainder of the fight. His respect for the kunochi rose a notch. Just as Kaylina was beginning to grin and walk towards where Kakuzu lay, she felt a massive presence behind her.

"That was a clever trick you pulled. It won't work twice." Kakuzu whispered into her ear and Kaylina shivered. For a moment she felt small and vulnerable when he loomed over like that, but she was sent flying through a couple of trees before she could gather her wits. As she attempted to get up quickly a black thread wrapped around her right wrist and left leg from underground and Kaylina cursed silently. She was pinned to the ground and unable to move from the spot. More threads laced upwards and wrapped her free hand and leg along with her waist. No matter how much she yanked, she was caught. Kakuzu walked over, disappointment clear on his face because this really hadn't been a fight and she was good looking.

It wasn't everyday that a sexy woman would go toe-to-toe with him and more rare that someone could trick him. As he walked up to the woman, he was slightly turned on to see her so thoroughly tied to the ground without fear in her eyes. Just as he was about a foot away, Kaylina laced chakra to her hands and cracked the group around her. With a slight slack in the threads, she darted away and threw more kunai at Kakuzu. Kakuzu was mildly surprised and took his cloak off to reveal more stitches.

Kaylina changed her chakra back to the blade form and realized that this battle was going to have to end quickly if she wanted to live. She charged Kakuzu and got within the circumference of his threads to engage him with a bit of hand to hand. She slashed with her chakra blades and quickly realized that whatever Kakuzu had done to his skin, her blades weren't able to cut through. She changed from blades back to ground busting chakra and started throwing kicks and punches towards Kakuzu's head. If she could knock him out, she would have a shot. The problem was that Kakuzu was really good at deflecting and returning every hit and kick with interest. Kaylina quickly starting sporting bruises that would be the nasty purple kind and her chakra was being spent rapidly.

Kakuzu separated himself from her after catching on that she was trying to brain him.

'Devious little thing' he thought to himself. He decided that she might be worth carrying back to Leader. He launched another campaign of threads, but this time, he intended to stab her. Kaylina saw the vicious looking points on the threads and retreated to chakra blades again. She modified the chakra to cut through the threads and beheaded the spear points aimed at her. Unfortunately, that didn't stop the movement of those threads and she soon found herself once again bound. Kakuzu appeared in front of her.

"I'm surprised you managed to cut some of my threads. Very few people can do that. I think Leader will be interested to meet you."

Kaylina, out of patience with him and the fight, starting to feel the pounding he had given her, replied with, "Go to hell and rot there." He loomed over her and smiled right before knocking her consciousness out the window. He made sure her hands and feet were bound before slinging her limp form over his shoulder and went to see how Hidan was doing.

* * *

><p>Hidan was having a ball. Right after Sakura had darted up the stairs back at the inn, Hidan had given chase. He had been punched right in the face by Sakura when he had rounded the last corner. She left him sputtering blood and darted out an open window down to the street. Despite the blood on his face and chin, Hidan had grinned and darted after her.<p>

Their chase ended on the exact opposite side of town from where Kaylina and Kakuzu had gone. Since Sakura had been ahead of him, she had stopped and turned around to assess her surroundings. Unfortunately, she didn't get long as Hidan charged straight at her without bothering to look around or stop. Swinging his scythe down at Sakura, she back-flipped out of the way and then a few more times to keep her distance. Hidan continued his pursuit of the pinkette until Sakura got tired of dodging and heeled kicked Hidan in the side of the head. This sent him flying across the road and into the hill behind him.

Quickly Sakura darted after him and laced green chakra to her hands and punched him full in the gut. The blow created deep cracks in the hill that was behind Hidan and Sakura knew she had broken ribs and ruptured organs. She became deeply disturbed, however, when Hidan smiled and grabbed the arm that was still in his gut with both hands twisted it behind her back. He pushed off the hill while holding Sakura's arm against her back in a painful manner.

"You are certainly a fucking sexy bitch. I enjoyed that last punch a lot and I'll be returning the favor." Sakura tried to keep ease away from him, but Hidan not only had a fierce grip on her arm but also had bent her over slightly and pressed himself to her so closely that his breath stirred her bangs. Sakura felt her sides tingle and tighten with the proximity.

She then stomped her foot causing the ground underneath them to fracture apart. Hidan was forced to release Sakura and seperate. Too bad he couldn't sacrifice her to Jashin. Hidan knew well enough that Pein wanted to meet these medics if they proved up to par and if Sakura's strength and agility were anything to go by, he figured the pink haired ninja would be up to par.

He streaked forward and began a barrage of attacks throwing kicks and punches like a tornado. Sakura was fast, but it was everything in her power to keep up. Still, a few blows landed and they would leave deep bruising. Sakura then got a brilliant idea and focused a tiny bit of chakra to her finger tips. Leaping over Hidan's head to dodge a punch, she twisted in mid air and brushed her fingers right against the base of Hidan's skull effectively paralyzing him throughout his body. Hidan fell face forward to the ground and began to swear a storm. Sakura bent down next to Hidan and moved to knock him unconscious with a chakra blast threw the brain when Hidan pushed himself up. Sakura was stunned.

"I just paralyzed you! How did you unblock the chakra I put in your system?!"

"Bitch please, I worship Jashin. Don't you know that I'm immortal? Anything you do to this body doesn't fucking stick for more than a few minutes."

Sakura backed away trying to come up with a new plan. If chakra blocking didn't work and he wouldn't sustain damage over battle, what could she do to stop him and win? She also realized that she and Kaylina had been separated even though Hidan and Kakuzu were too, which meant that Sakura didn't have back up.

Sakura formed some hands seals and slapped her palm on the ground. Immediately water began to soak the ground and Sakura used that water an attempt to imprison Hidan. As Sakura was trying to get him to stand still long enough in one place for the water to stick, Hidan was back to using his scythe and swinging it from any direction at Sakura. Sakura noticed that the design of the 3-bladed device wasn't so much as to kill as it was to maim. She began to gather small cuts on her arms and legs from having to deflect the object. She wasn't as fast as Hidan was, but she was smarter.

She danced around Hidan in a circle right on the water and then used a shadow clone to grab a hold of him from behind. The ten seconds that Hidan struggled with trying to get at the clone was just enough time for Sakura to enact the water prison and trap Hidan. He would have screamed curses at her if he could have, but water filled his mouth when he opened it. Finding the water too dense to move in, Hidan realized he would have to wait for Kakuzu to show up to distract the kunochi from holding the prison.

Sakura, on the other hand, was stuck in a dilemma. She had immobilized Hidan for the time being, but it consumed a fair amount of chakra to maintain and soon Hidan would be out again. Moreover, she was worrying about Kaylina and how she was fairing against Kakuzu. She was really stuck.

This was the one trapping technique she had been taught by Kakashi-sensei. Other people caught in this prison would eventually drown or become too exhausted to fight back if it were released in time. Hidan was immortal, so it didn't make a damn bit of difference if he drowned or not. Moreover, Sakura didn't have the best reserves of chakra either and she didn't want to be depleted when he got out. But again, what difference did having chakra do? Anything inflicted on Hidan's body was reversed in a matter of seconds to minutes. Not enough time for it to be effective.

Unless….Sakura severed his head from his body!

That would be the one way to stop Hidan from moving and neutralize him as a threat!

Sakura lowered the portion of the water prison such that Hidan's head was free and took out a kunai. Pushing chakra along the blade to make it a longer and sharper, Sakura approached Hidan.

"What bitch? You going to stab out my eyes? Good fucking luck, they'll grow right back."

"No Hidan, I'm going to remove your head from your body and play soccer with it. I hope you don't mind too much." She grinned sweetly and swung her blade. Unknown to her and to Hidan's great amusement, Kakuzu had just arrived with Kaylina still passed out on his shoulder and he darted to get behind Sakura before her swing cut Hidan's head off his neck.

Kakuzu whacked Sakura at the base of her skull to knock her out and the water prison collapsed spilling Hidan backwards.

A moment of silence ensued where Kakuzu pinched the bridge of his nose and Hidan picked himself up.

"Did you really get trapped in a water prison by a girl no older than 20? How pathetic."

"Shut the fuck up old man. I had it under control, I was already pulsing my chakra to break the prison before you interrupted."

"Sure, because she totally wouldn't have cut your head from your body before you got out."

"FUCK OFF! JASHIN DAMN YOUR ASS!"

"Stop screaming and pick her up. We're taking these women with us back to the hotel and don't forget to place a chakra seal on her so she can't use her chakra. And also secure her bonds. If she's like anything this blonde was, she'll be devious and figure a way out if we don't take precautions."

"Don't tell me what the fuck to do you son of a bitch." Hidan grumbled and took care of Sakura as Kakuzu had instructed. Then Hidan picked Sakura up and flung her over his shoulder and both shinobi when back to the hotel to freshen up and secure their charges.

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><p>I'm so sorry if anyone is getting a billion updates from me. I don't have a good handle on this website and it's been forever since I uploadedreplaced anything. I'm so sorry if you feel harassed or hounded.


	3. Chapter 3 - Revised

Okay, well, business first.

I seem to have gone overboard with the OC. Please let me explain my thinking…I focused on her because I didn't want a flimsy character that waivered in and out of the story. I want to develop all the characters to the best of my ability and apparently, I misjudged the balance between Sakura and Kaylina. SAKURA WILL BE HAVING DEVELOPED RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL THE MEMBERS – KAYLINA WILL BE A FLIRT THAT DOES NOT RECEIVE IN DEPTH ATTENTION.

I do not intend to split the boys down the middle and make sure each girl has an equal portion. Sakura will have all the attention and Kaylina will fill the role of a friend/co-worker, not a potential lover and partner. I will be scaling Kaylina back down. I deeply apologize for making it look like something else. I also didn't want Sakura to be stuck in the 'I'm still a student, I have no fucking clue what we're doing. Oh please wise one, guide me' role. I view her as a competent adult who has a partner. Therefore, she makes as many executive decisions as Kaylina herself.

I didn't mean to overdo the fight scene between Kaylina vs. Sakura or to make Sakura look any less appealing than Kaylina herself. I was more focused on writing a scene that was believable, comfortable to read, and fast paced without leaving the reader to fill in gaps. I also tried to make Sakura and Kaylina stand out from other ninja with power, technique, and brains. I personally feel like that didn't happen; it ended up looking like average fights on both ends. I'm going to try harder next time.

Please continue to read and review. It's the reviews that allow me to access what is wrong and how to fix it so that the story maybe more enjoyable for you to read. I appreciate the reviews that point things like this out. And (hopefully), things can only continue to improve. Thank you for taking the time to consider the story and its various aspects. I hope this chapter shows that I mean business. Enjoy.

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><p>Being dumped onto a floor hurts. It hurts when a person is awake and still able to twist (at the minimum) such that they don't land on bony joints or painful areas. It's another to be dumped when a person is knocked out. While tied. Officially not cool.<p>

That was the thought that crossed Sakura's mind as she slowly began to regain consciousness. She didn't open her eyes or even move, mostly because she hurt, a lot. She began to recall the last few moments of her battle with Hidan. She had a blade enhanced with chakra and Hidan trapped in the water prison. She had every intention of cutting his head from his body and then leaving to find Kaylina. She had been so damn close!

So what had happened? She remembered looking at Hidan, who had a wide smirk on his face, and then blackness as she was hit from behind. Had it been a clone of Hidan's? Could Kakuzu have beaten Kaylina and come to rescue Hidan?

Whatever the case, Sakura was positive that she was in her target's hands. She finally opened her eyes and slowly began to sit up. It was difficult to see her surroundings since the light from one lamp on a desk was poor, far away, and partially blocked by something. It was then, trying to figure out where she was, that Sakura realized she was on the floor next to a bed and her hands were tied in front of her to a support bar underneath the frame of the bed. She blinked at this. No wonder the light was partly blocked.

'Inner, are we really tied to the underside of a bed?'

'_Yep captain, that is correct. That's a bed, that's some ninja wire, and you are tied.'_

'Why the underside of a bed?'

'_Who knows? Maybe they like bondage? Maybe they didn't have a better spot to tie you to? Maybe they're stupid and don't realize you could flip the bed with your pinky? I have no idea.'_

'How….odd. Do you think at least one of them is still in the room with me?'

'_I would bet on it cupcake. These delicious looking men aren't stupid, and I suspect Kaylina is around here somewhere too. Maybe they'll run around with their shirts off…..yummy.'_

'Don't mentally drool on me. I want those assholes fully clothed if they're within my immediate proximity. Besides, if Hidan's immortal and because he's good looking, he has to have an STD… or two or three.'

'_Yeah, I thought about that while you were fighting him. I think that he probably gets them from time to time, but if he heals as quickly as he did during battle, I bet he doesn't stay infected for long. That means we just have to time it right and we can get some awesome c—'_

'THAT'S ENOUGH! Don't you dare finish that sentence! We have more serious problems on our hands!'

With that, Sakura attempted to bring chakra to her hands. She strained to reach the familiar green energy that was located within her body, but it was as if a clear sheet of glass stood between her and it. She pushed against the barrier, feeling the warmth that was her own energy, but unable to touch it, much less use it. A terrible feeling formed in her gut. Without chakra, she was extremely vulnerable. She wouldn't be able to sense if another ninja approached, heal wounds that may need immediate attention, use a jutsu, or even use her super strength to break free and make a run for it.

This was not good and she didn't remotely feel okay with this situation. She tried to pull her hands apart in the hopes that maybe she could cause the wire to slacken and maybe wiggle a hand out, but it was no use. She wasn't a magician that could make the wire disappear and the more she struggled with it, the more it bit into her flesh. She sighed and gave up in favor for trying to see more than just a bed and a wall.

Craning her head and sitting with her knees under her, she had just enough allowance of the wire to peak over the top of the bed and access the room. She hoped to glimpse Kaylina and make sure she was okay. There were two beds, (the one she was tied to was the left most one), a desk, a balcony, a floor lamp, and what she assumed was a shower on the other side of the wall, but no sign of Kaylina.

The décor and furniture suggested that the room was of high quality. She relaxed back down and folded her legs underneath to sit more comfortably. She would have to wait till she was addressed by her captors who weren't present to see what their intentions were and to gather more information.

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><p>On the far side of the other bed, Kaylina was passed out cold. Only after Sakura had settled herself down to wait, did Kaylina begin to awaken feeling very stiff and cold. Trying to cradle her head, she found that was tied to the underside of that bed and groaned.<p>

Hearing a feminine groan from the other side of the room, Sakura called out.

"Kaylina! Thank Kami! Are you okay? I'm tied to the support bar underneath a bed and I can't see you."

"Ugh, yeah. I'm okay, but sore as hell. Apparently the theme of today's ninja tying is using beds. I'm bound over here too. Can you use your chakra at all?"

"No, I tried, but they put some damn seal that stands between me and my chakra."

"Assholes."

"I agree. I can't even ease my bruises or aching muscles thanks to this thing. By chance can you wiggle your hands out of the wire? I tried, but couldn't do it."

"Give me a second. I think they dropped us on the floor by the way. I have new bruises that I didn't sustain in battle. I'm going to give them an ass chewing for that. You don't drop hostages on the floor when they're out cold. That's just rude and poor form."

Sakura giggled softly. Of course Kaylina would use humor to remain calm while she assessed her abilities.

"Yep kid, I have a seal too and no room to wiggle my hands free with. Well, we're gonna be sittin' tight for a minute. Do you know if one of those men is still in the room with us and he's just staring like a stalker?"

"I don't think so. I've been awake for about half an hour now and I haven't seen anything move or anyone come in through the door."

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><p>"Move it Hidan. You are testing my patience." Kakuzu stated in a quiet, controlled tone. He wanted to get back to the hotel room before the two women woke up since it had been 45 minutes since Hidan and him had left. He doubted that they would be able to free themselves, but he didn't ever take chances.<p>

"Fuck you stitch bitch. I'm busy." Hidan was currently sitting at a tea shop, enjoying a refreshing cup. He had wanted out of the hotel room and away from the two ninja tied to the beds. Between Kakuzu's constant snarky comments and his own frustration after the battle, he had needed some space. A popular tea house in which to sit and gather his thoughts was perfect. Hidan had assumed that Kakuzu would stay behind, but he had followed him right out the door. Granted not directly to the tea shop, but still, couldn't a man wander a town without the chance of running into his asshole of a partner?

"You move your ass this second, or I rip you apart." It was a low, grim growl. Kakuzu had narrowed his eyes and he could feel his threads flexing underneath his skin. If Hidan didn't get up, he would release them and tear Hidan to pieces; tea shop or not.

"JASHIN DAMN YOU. Can't I have one fucking minute to myself?! That too much to ask from you, you stupid cheap ass? Fuck you sideways." Snarling and pissed off, Hidan stood up and grabbed his cloak which was on the seat next to him.

"Don't come near me. And pay for your drink. I'm not made of money and I refuse to support you."

"I hate you and will kill you one day. It will be the worst Jashin damn pain you ever felt and I will revel in it." Hissing this last part, Hidan threw some coins on the table and the two ninja left a deathly quiet tea shop. Most everyone knew of the Akatsuki and many knew that Hidan and Kakuzu had no problem fighting each other, despite where they were.

A stretch of silence surrounded the missing nins as they walked back to the hotel. Of course, Hidan being Hidan broke the solitude.

"If you are so Jashin damn pissy, why did you follow me out the door? Why not stay and watch the two bitches?"

"I'm trying to learn everything I can about them from the locals. Remember that they were here two weeks prior to our arrival and the more I know, the better we stand."

"What the fuck ever." It wasn't that Hidan didn't understand Kakuzu's thinking, he just didn't care. Who cared where the bitches came from? They were hot, supposedly medics, and Pein had said to bring them back to base. Why worry about the details?

Kakuzu, on the other hand, had a complete opposite train of thought. If these girls were from Leaf, why hadn't they gone to Wave? Everyone knew that the Village Hidden in the Mist was riddled with bandits, rogue ninja, bloodthirsty criminals, and just about everyone else who could carry a knife.

Moreover, two medic-nins from Leaf? Tsunade's changes in squad formations to insure that a medic was always present had changed the ninja world. How could, not one but two medics defect from Konoha? Why? Potentially, Kakuzu reasoned, this was all fake. They could be looking for the Akatsuki to infiltrate the organization and report back. It would explain why they weren't down by Wave, why two medics were sent out (because it really was appealing to an organization that was going to be at war with the rest of the world), and why they were sticking around some rinky-dink town. It wasn't like the Akatsuki had kept secret that they were looking for recruits. And it also wasn't a secret of the movements of various partners through towns this close to Amegakure. Kakuzu felt a pressing need to answer some, if not all, of the questions bouncing around his head.

* * *

><p>The door to the room smacked the opposing wall and Sakura jumped. She and Kaylina had been sitting and talking for roughly 30 minutes about their situation before the interruption. She watched as Kakuzu and Hidan walked in. Except it was more like Hidan stomped in (he had been the one to open the door in such an angry manner) and dropped into the spare chair while Kakuzu walked in like a normal human being.<p>

'Potentially some friction inner?'

'_I would say so. That isn't how two lovers say hello or come back from a stroll.'_

'Interesting.'

Sakura stared at both the ninja and waited for someone to say something.

Kakuzu set down his cloak, leaned against a wall, and glared at Hidan.

Kaylina stared at both ninja and waited.

Hidan glared at a spot at the floor and fumed.

And both girls sat there and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

And someone on the street shouted, "You are the south bound end of a north bound donkey!"

Sakura couldn't help it; a giggle escaped. With the tension mounting and the nervousness she was sure were rolling in waves off of her, of all the things someone randomly could yell, it was what?

The giggle was a small, quiet noise that wouldn't normally have been heard had things not been so quiet. Instead Hidan's and Kakuzu's heads turned toward the sound and Kakuzu raised an eyebrow.

'She can giggle at something ridiculous while tied to the underside of the bed and in the presence of two Akatsuki members?...Brave.'

"Well, since the ice has been broken so to speak, why don't we have a chat?" Kakuzu said it like anyone in the room really had a choice. Sakura and Kaylina stiffened and Hidan leaned back into his chair and eyed the pair.

"Explain why the fuck you two bitches are hanging around here, first and foremost." Kakuzu and Hidan fell into the bad-cop, good-cop routine pretty well. It was something that seemed to occur naturally considering Hidan's hot-headedness and Kakuzu's even temperedness. As far as Kakuzu could play "good-cop" while being what he was. Kaylina spoke up first.

"We're here looking for you guys actually." She mentally cursed; that hadn't been exactly what she had wanted to say. She somewhat just blurted it due to nerves.

Kakuzu tensed. This could be a trap and he didn't want to bring two potential spies back to base. Not without being able to verify any concrete information about the two women first.

"Why are you looking for Hidan and me? We're hardly the easiest to approach, much less talk to."

"It wasn't specifically you. It was anyone from the Akatsuki."

"Why bitch? Why the fuck are you looking for us? Are you stupid or something? Did Kakuzu hit you too hard on the head?" Hidan was trying to rile the blonde up so that Kakuzu could catch lies in their story, but she wasn't biting. He turned his attention to Sakura. He had seen how Sakura had gotten angry during their brief fight; maybe they could trip one woman up by enraging one and not the other?

"Hey! Pink bitch! Your partner is telling us you want to join the Akatsuki, is that true?"

"No….Kaylina didn't say that. She said we were looking for you guys, not why." Sakura was extremely careful with the words she chose to use and her tone. She knew that these men were deeply suspicious of their motives. One inconsistency and both her and Kaylina would die right where they sat.

"So, you two are looking for any particular member of the Akatsuki organization. I would assume it is in fact, to join the organization, but as you have pointed out, neither you nor your partner have actually stated your intentions. Care to share?" Kakuzu's deep voice caused Sakura to shiver slightly. She paused. If she didn't say this just right, she and Kaylina were screwed.

It was the moment that meant everything for their mission and it had to be done just so. She hadn't considered running into these particular two, so the clever statements and reasons she had practiced suddenly seemed flimsy and insubstantial. She had thought more about running into the other members who were more level-headed and willing to listen. She decided to go with a plain answer and hoped her sincerity would come across.

"We were looking for any particular member of the Akatsuki organization because we had heard rumors that you were looking for recruits. We would like to join. We have defected from Konoha and have no other prospects besides Wave which is…..unpleasant at best."

Wave would be unpleasant for two women traveling together - particularly good-looking, young, homeless women. But for medics, it was the best place for action.

"Why Akatsuki? Why our particular organization?" The question was asked in a harsh manner by Kakuzu. He was extremely curious to hear the reasoning. Kaylina thought about Sakura's approach to the critical question. She needed to follow the same form of plain and sincere.

"We chose the Akatsuki for a few reasons. The first was the prospect of revenge. The second was the size of the organization itself plus its reputation. A third reason was the potential work load. Between two fully trained medics, we estimated that we would have light shifts of healing, surgery, and basic health repairs. All of these attributes will never be found in Wave with the way it is currently. We would have had to establish ourselves and hold out against every other medic, rapist, and psycho while trying to make ends meet. With the Akatsuki, we don't have to do the hard work; it's already done. We just have to perpetuate the organization and its' goals."

Kakuzu and Hidan were silent, at least towards the girls. Silently they were discussing matters between each other via their rings.

'Fuck, you think this shit is for real?'

'For now, it's plausible. I think that we should take them back to base, drop them off, and travel to Konoha to investigate for ourselves. We can turn them over to leader who can seal them within rooms.'

'Yeah, Kakuzu, I'm concerned. As pretty as they look, as sincere as they sound, and as good as they are in combat, I have a nagging feeling they lying to us.'

'I do too. Leaf is known for producing extremely loyal shinobi and yet we have two medics that have suddenly defected. They claim they seek revenge, but what for?'

The conversation lasted the length of time it would have if they had spoken aloud. During that time, Kaylina and Sakura only saw pensive faces. Kakuzu was always amazed when Hidan came to the same conclusions that he did. He often forgot that Hidan had a brain when he wasn't yelling and screaming and carrying on like a child. He also had to remember that Hidan occasionally did think beyond his immediate circumstances and carried the same concerns that he did.

"One last question ladies before we decide. You claim a reason for joining is seeking revenge. Revenge against whom and/or what?" Kakuzu asked. Personally, he could sympathize with revenge seeking.

Sakura spoke again. "I want revenge for all the belittling, back-stabbing, snubbing, and general doubt that I have had to endure for years. I'm a damn good ninja and medic and I felt that I deserved more credit than what I was allotted. I got tired over the years carrying out stupid, meaningless missions, and constantly being told what I could and could not handle."

Sakura had thought long and hard about what she would answer when asked this particular question. She had blended part of the truth with some non-intentional lies. It was true that she had become frustrated with the way people treated her, as if she wasn't good enough, but after Sasuke left, she had changed and grown stronger. With Tsunade and her training, there wasn't a Leaf ninja alive who would dare to anger her or keep her from doing anything she put her mind to. She knew that she was considered a powerful kunochi and she had earned it. Plus, she still had all her friends and family beside her who deeply respected her and she them minus the defection.

"What about you, blonde bitch? What's your pathetic reasoning?"

"When I was in Leaf, I was constantly told that I could do or become anything; gain any power my heart desired. I came to realize over the last few years, that no matter how hard I busted my ass for Leaf, I wasn't going to be given the power I felt I deserved. I ended up getting into constant fights with Tsunade over what I should and shouldn't be allowed to have access to. Finally I just got tired and left. I want revenge for being told no and having other people dare to bar me from what I've earned, what is rightfully mine."

Kaylina allowed that to sink in and thought she had done a pretty good job of marring the truth with a bit of exaggeration. Oh yeah, she and Tsunade had fights where the craters are still there to this day, but never hurtful enough to leave or want revenge. And never over something like power; the fights had mostly been about techniques and approaches to one thing or another.

"Hmmm, well, if that truly is the case then here's the deal." Kakuzu paused, thinking of how exactly he wanted this to go. "You two will remain tied to us till we reach our base. Before you see the base, you will be blindfolded. At every possible point, you will obey either myself or Hidan. Any disrespect, arguing, or rebellion, I'll kill you were you stand. When we reach the base, you will face our leader and he will decide whether or not you can join. Any questions?"

"I have one. How can we be assured of our own safety? You say don't do this or that and I won't kill you, but how do we really know we can trust either one of you or any other member for that matter?" Sakura was deeply concerned by the lack of mutual agreement. She knew that it was a possibility that they might even torture her and Kaylina to be assured of their stories, but she desperately wanted some guarantee of safety.

"Know that we are not low life, vulgar people who take whatever they desire. You aren't going to be hurt because you're a woman and I'm a man. You keep within your set boundaries and we can promise that we won't torture, beat, rape, or maim you. Remember that we're looking for recruits as well."

"If you can keep your word, then we'll behave."

Kakuzu nodded and really looked at the pink haired girl before him. He knew that if her story checked out, she would be a shoe in for sure. Very few people could disable and disarm Hidan in under 10 minutes and live to tell the tale. He also appreciated her business-like approach. Many people didn't bother to insure their safety or remain calm with the restrictions he placed on them. He also appreciated the fact that she wasn't repulsed by his appearance. She talked to him like a normal human being, granted she talked in a placating tone so that she wouldn't anger him, but how else would she talk in this situation? Another think he noted was the fact that she had a brain in her head and she knew how to use it.

Her appearance intrigued him. There wasn't anything extravagant except her pink hair and thank whoever that it was a soft shade, not some neon blaring color. She was a woman and petite. If she was able to stand up, the top of her head would come level with the bottom of his sternum, but it made her appear small and fragile which was alarmingly deceptive. She had a well portioned body and it was toned with very few scars.

In the time that Kakuzu had stood there and stared at Sakura like she had two heads, Hidan had gone into the bathroom to shower and Sakura had begun to wonder how she and Kaylina were going to eat, shower, dress, and use the restroom if they were tied to the beds.

"Um, Kakuzu?"

"What?"

"I was just wondering how Kaylina and myself are supposed to eat, shower, and use the restroom if we're tied to the beds. You know, whenever you get around to it, it's not like we're hungry or dirty or any combination thereof."

The corners of Kakuzu's mouth twitched slightly upward at her offhand, blasé attitude. Of course they would need to move around and stretch their legs.

"I will detach a thread from my arms and wrap it once around your waist. You will have enough slack to move around this room, but if you try anything, it'll slice you in half. You will continue to be separated from Kaylina." Kaylina frowned at that last part, but reflected that it was lenient of him. Most people would have just said tough shit and to deal with the circumstances.

"Can I have the next shower?" Kaylina had dust and mud jammed down her shorts and shirt which was steadily becoming more and more irritating.

"Fine, be quick though, I want one and I suspect Sakura does too."

Hidan finally emerged and Kakuzu untied Kaylina while slipping a thread under her shirt and around her waist. She shivered at the coarse feel of the thread and Kakuzu smirked. She then turned to face him and inquired (rather baldly) as to their stuff that was back at the inn. Kakuzu huffed and ordered Hidan to retrieve it quickly. Hidan obliged, acutely sharing his feelings about being made an "errand bitch" and "why the fuck do they need their shit anyways?"

During Kaylina's shower, Hidan returned with the two packs, promptly opened the bathroom door, loudly told Kaylina "her shit was heavy" and dropped both the packs on the floor. She was alarmed and a little put-off by the abrupt entry and rather rude behavior. It was one thing to think he was putting on a show to try and intimidate them, another to realize he really had the potential to be that rude and loud…..at any time. While Kaylina resumed her shower, Kakuzu left to have dinner brought up for four (free of charge) and Hidan was left staring at Sakura.

"I think your hair is a stupid color. What ninja has pink hair?"

"You're one to talk, you have magenta eyes and white hair. You look like a girl wanna-be."

"Fuck you pink bitch. You're small and stupid compared to me."

"Oh really? However did I manage to trap you in a water prison then? Thank Kami Kakuzu showed up. Tell me, does he save your ass often?" Sakura cocked her head to one side and gave Hidan the biggest pair of innocent eyes she could muster. Hidan glowered at her.

Kakuzu returned to the room with a waiter behind him carrying a tray with four plates of food. He pulled the desk out from the wall, untied Sakura, and motioned for her to eat first with him while slipping a thread around her waist. Both males saw her shiver.

Hidan had to wait (which he complained about) and eat with Kaylina since there was only one chair and the edge of the bed for people to sit on. During the kind of quiet dinner, Kaylina finished in the bathroom, stepping out in fresh clothes and feeling somewhat human again. Seeing a table full of food and counting the plates, her opinion of the two Akatsuki rose a notch. Not every day a couple of captors made sure their captives ate and wordlessly provided them with the food. Then again, they really weren't captives…technically.

Seeing that Kaylina was hungry too, Sakura quickly finished her meal and stood up to give Kaylina the seat. Kakuzu also finished and made for the bathroom to shower. To say that the atmosphere was tense, quiet, and awkward would when someone the understatement award of the year.

Hidan replaced Kakuzu at the table and began to eat. Feeling only slightly more relaxed with a meal inside of her and being free from the bed, Sakura took the opportunity to study Hidan. She had already begun to catalog his moves in battle and his interactions with people, but she also wanted to look at him.

He wore his cloak half way unbuttoned leaving his chest exposed to air. He was pale, but extremely well muscled and retained no scars or past injuries that Sakura could tell from the way he moved and looked. He had magenta eyes that usually had a bit of laughter in them like he knew a joke that no one else knew. His hair was actually a light silver, rather than white, not too long, and Sakura would bet 10:1 it was incredibly soft. His face was angular in the masculine way, but nice to look at, no over protruding jaw or heavy forehead. She also noted that he was tall for a male. Compared to her height, he towered over her and the top of her head would reach right about mid-sternum. She frowned at the disadvantage.

"What? Got a problem with the way I look bitch?"

"No actually, I was wondering exactly how old you are. If your claim of immortality is true, then you have two ages. One age where you stopped aging, and another of the years that you have lived being preserved at that age. So I was just wondering how old you are."

Hidan felt a small prickle of pride that she liked the way he looked and Sakura mentally patted herself on the back for her fast thinking.

"I was 24 when I became a follower of Jashin. It has been about 35 years since then, so I would say that my age is 59 give or take a year."

Kaylina shot a brief glance at Hidan.

'Wow, he is about as old as I am inner. I can totally date him and not be considered a cougar!'

'_Slow down. He doesn't act like he's 59, he's still acting like he's 24. I don't think you should be hanging around him when he isn't going to act his age. Moreover, we have a problem. If what he says is true, then he may begin to realize that you aren't what you seem either. Potentially you should tell him your "secret"….just to be safe.'_

'Excellent point and fyi, I don't act my age either!'

'_Trust me, I know.'_

Kaylina finished eating and cleared her voice.

"Hidan, you and I are of the same age."

Sakura's eyes widen a slight fraction. What did Kaylina think she was doing by telling him of her jutsu?

"What the fuck?"

"Yeah, um, we're the same age."

"No, we're fucking not."

"Yes we are." Kaylina paused, "How do I explain this? You understand that Tsunade is old right? Do you have an idea just how old she is?"

Hidan thought for a moment. The Sanin had been around since he was young, but this woman here didn't look older than him by a year. Granted, he had heard about the Slug Princess's unending youth, but this was ridiculous.

"She's close to her 60's. What does that have any fucking thing to do with you?"

"If you had been listening, I told you earlier that Tsunade and I used to fight a lot. Since she only came into a position of power in the last 3 years, that must mean I had to of known her before that in order to fight with her so consistently. So that must mean…..?"

Hidan stared at her blankly. Kaylina sighed.

"It means that I'm not as young as I look sweetcheeks. As soon as I have my chakra, I can show you."

Hidan just stared. "Don't fucking call me sweetcheeks. My name is Hidan, even a bitch like you can say it." It was more of an automatic response than a barb to be rude. He tried turning this new revelation over in his mind, but he couldn't wrap his head around it. The only other person he knew that was "immortal" was Kakuzu. Yeah, Tsunade had a jutsu that made her look younger, but that didn't preserve her and you could still see some age on her.

Kaylina though? She just didn't look older than 25. Maybe Kakuzu could figure this out.

"Stay where the fuck you are and don't move. I'm telling Kakuzu and he'll sort this horseshit out." With that warning, Hidan swiftly entered the bathroom and loudly recanted what Kaylina had told him. The water was turned off, a muffled, gruff order was given, and Hidan reemerged with a smirk plastered on his handsome face.

Kakuzu reemerged a minute later observing Kaylina.

"You're the same age as Hidan."

"Yes."

"Prove it."

Kaylina stood up slowly and tugged her pants down just enough to show her chakra point.

"Do you both see that mark? Do you realize it's similar to the one Tsunade has on her forehead?"

Hidan snorted and Kakuzu nodded. Both men had heard rumors that Tsunade kept a large reserve of chakra somewhere on her person and released it in only in extreme situations. The battle with Orochimaru had not passed without comment in the Akatsuki organization and it had been speculated as to how Tsunade had handed Orochimaru his ass when she didn't use forbidden jutsus.

"When Tsunade and I were just starting out as medics, we developed this jutsu as a sort of "emergency supply" of chakra. You both remember how much fighting was going on in those days and every side needed an advantage. This was ours." Kaylina pulled her pants back up and sat down.

"Once the fighting had stopped we continued to use the reserve points, but the wars had taken their toll. We might have been around our 20's, but if you had looked at us, you would have thought we were in our 50's. There was just too much blood shed to shake off and walk away from. So we came up with the youthful appearance jutsu to hide, on the outside at least, our grief and sorrow. It was mostly out of spite towards the bitterness we both felt." Kaylina folded her hands in her lap when she finished and looked Kakuzu in the eyes.

He saw a tired, old woman looking at him. It was the same look he sometimes got when he recalled certain events from past days. It was a look that showed cynicism, bitterness, distaste, and a sense of detachment that only war veterans had. Ultimately, he concluded that she couldn't be lying; no one could possibly fake that kind of look. A liar can't copy years of experience and hardship and make it convincing.

He nodded his head derisively. And Hidan's mouth fell open.

"You can't be fucking serious! This is unbelievable. There is no fucking way she is my age! I would have heard about her or something."

Both Kaylina and Kakuzu pinched the bridges of their noses and closed their eyes.

Kakuzu quickly decided to nip this in the ass before Hidan became a real problem.

"Listen here you little shit. She is as old as you are. She is telling the truth and no, you wouldn't have heard about her because you can't pull your head out of your ass for five fucking minutes to listen to anyone around you!"

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" Hidan screamed.

Sakura winced not only from the proximity to the loud priest but also to the venom in his words. Definitely friction between the two partners.

"Okay, let's try and calm down. We all had a long day, we're in tight quarters, and Kaylina's age is really a moot point anyway." She stood between the miser and the priest, not really wanting to get into a fight, but certainly not wanting the room torn apart by the two nuke-nin.

Hidan's fists were clenched tightly and if looks could kill, it would be a race to see whether Kakuzu or Hidan died first. The tension was reaching such a point that Sakura felt her breath quicken.

Finally, Kakuzu broke the staring contest and stared at the small pinkette standing between him and Hidan. She looked back at him, not quite defiant, but not interested in letting this argument continue either.

He snorted and turned away while Hidan ground his teeth. Feeling that the tension was decreasing somewhat, Sakura glanced backwards at Hidan and received a snarl. She frowned at him, but didn't say anything. To say anything to the enraged immortal was tantamount to suicide so she headed for the shower instead.

As soon as Sakura finished her shower, Kakuzu informed the group that tomorrow they would move out and head back towards the base. He instructed them to get a good night of sleep and that they would be leaving early. Without much ado, he allowed Kaylina and Sakura to retrieve their bed rolls as Hidan and him settled into bed. Sakura flicked the lamp off and the room plunged into darkness. Soon everything was still as the 4 shinobi put themselves to sleep for tomorrow.

* * *

><p>Yeah, I actually had a teacher in high-school who would describe students that were rude as being the "south bound end of a north bound donkey". He was hilarious.<p>

Besides that, if the conversations are a little confusing to follow, refresh yourself on chapter one to remember indentifying characteristics of Kaylina and then use how Hidan talks to differ him from Kakuzu. That should clear up any issue you have. If not, let me know via review and I'll make sure next time it's more clear.

They are moving out towards the base! OMG, what will happen and how will Pein handle the ladies? Will there be bloodshed, humor, or frustration? Who knows? Well…..I do, but that's beside the point.


	4. Chapter 4 - Revised

I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

* * *

><p>Dawn broke the next morning (duh, that's what dawn does.) The day looked to be sunny without clouds, warm, and for a second Sakura thought she was at home, back in her bed. That was until she heard someone flip over in their bed and muttered the word, fuck.<p>

Ah yes, she was in a hotel room with two Akatsuki members and she would be moving today towards their base to ask to join the organization or die. Good mood…..gone. She sighed and tried to close her eyes for a few more minutes of blissful, unaware sleep. She almost made it, but a foot nudged her awake and she opened her eyes to see Kakuzu looking down at her.

"Up. We're moving out. There's some fruit on the desk. Grab some for the road and pack your stuff. We leave in five."

Sakura nodded and stood up to stretch and roll up her bed. Kaylina was up as well and had her pack ready to go by the wall. As both women ate some fruit, Sakura noted that Hidan was still in bed. He had sprawled out all over it, knocked his pillows askew, and his hair covered half of his face. It was adorable. No grown man should look that relaxed and care free when asleep, and yet Hidan was dead to the world. Kakuzu gave him another 5 minutes before walking over and poking Hidan in the gut. Hard.

"Get up."

"Fuck you. I want more sleep."

"I don't give a damn what you want. Get up or I drag you down the stairs and through the street by your hair."

Hidan cracked an eye open at Kakuzu and informed him that he needed to get laid so that he wasn't such a tight ass all the time. Kakuzu was tempted to sow Hidan's mouth shut for a few minutes but decided it wasn't worth the hour of complaining that would follow when Hidan would cut the strands free. Clearly there were still some sore feelings from yesterday.

Soon all four shinobi were out onto the streets and running out of town. It was an odd formation. Since Kaylina and Sakura weren't allowed to be together, but one of the boys had to lead them, it was Kakuzu leading in front, while Sakura followed with Hidan directly in between her and Kaylina. Both girls still had the threads wrapped around their waists.

The day went something like this. Tree. Tree. Tree. Tree. Hidan. Tree. Tree. Tree. Kakuzu. Tree. Tree. Tree. Kakuzu bickering with Hidan because Hidan was bored. Tree. Tree. Tree. Tree. Over estimated entertainment value of tree jumping. Some more trees, another couple of hours. Tree. Tree. Tree. Tree. Didn't the damn trees end at some point? A few more trees, another couple of hours.

Finally, a brief resting period. The group jumped down from the trees and relaxed for 10 minutes. Considering that her canteen was out of water Sakura contemplated and finally asked Kakuzu if there was a stream nearby were she could refill her bottle. He nodded and led her over to it while carrying his own.

As both ninja knelt down to fill their bottles, Sakura realized she wanted to see under Kakuzu's mask. She figured that she had cataloged Hidan's features and Kaylina had seen Kakuzu's battle techniques, but Kaylina nor herself had seen his actual face. Sure, they had seen his arms covered in stitches when he took his cloak off, but that had been about it. Not even a chest or some leg. Sakura glanced over at Kakuzu from the corner of her eye.

'Inner, how do we get him to take his mask off?'

'_Um…..use telepathy. That'll do it.'_

'I read his mind? Do you mean telekinesis?'

'_Yeah! That one! Use that one!'_

'Since when do we have telekinesis powers?'

'_We don't, but you asked a stupid question so I gave a stupid answer.'_

'So what you're saying is that you have no idea.'

'_Obviously.'_

'Why do I keep you around?'

'_Because you love me and I'm the best!'_

'Uh ha.'

Sakura and Kakuzu finished filling their bottles and turned to head back towards the others. Sakura paused making Kakuzu turn around.

"What?"

She took a breath and blurted, "I want to see your face."

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. What the hell? She wanted to see his face? What for?

"Excuse me."

"I want to see your face."

"Why?"

"Because I do."

"I'm not something to stare at woman. Don't be rude." Kakuzu was slightly offended and somewhat alarmed at her bold request. The last time someone had done this was Hidan and Kakuzu had simply kicked him through a wall. He figured he could do the same to Sakura if she got out of hand.

"I'm not trying to be. I just want to know what you look like. You cover your face and it looks intimidating."

"Good. That's how it's supposed to look and no, I'm not pulling my mask off so you can stare for curiosity's sake. Don't ask again." With that, Kakuzu walked back to Hidan and Kaylina with a stiffer stance then when he had left. Sakura followed back a little put off by the sharp dismissal. Hidan noticed Kakuzu's shoulders and face and wondered what had upset the older man. Something surely to do with the pink haired woman or Hidan was a pansy, flower ass kisser.

The group took off again, awhizzin through the trees and Hidan pondered the little incident. Soon dusk fell and Kakuzu stopped the day's travel. They were still 2 days from the base and there was no rush to get back. Hidan built a fire while Sakura pulled out some preserved rations and began to cook. Kaylina and Kakuzu set parameters around the campsite and caught a few rabbits to eat. Sakura kept sneaking glances at Kakuzu trying to see when he would take off his mask to eat. Hidan and Kaylina were darting looks back and forth between the two. And they all burst into song!

Okay, not quite, but it was hellishly awkward, again.

Sakura chose to ignore the silence and focused on Kakuzu. She hadn't been studying him yesterday when they ate together and he hadn't removed his mask then either! It was a lot like Kakashi, so much so, that Sakura felt a small pang of homesickness and regret.

'I wonder what he's doing right now.'

'_So do I. I miss how he wraps his arms around us. Damn, that man is fine!'_

'Yeah, he's good looking. I was more thinking about whether he was still in the hospital or if Tsunade just healed the damage we inflicted and he's out training or something.'

'_Don't worry! He's up and running, guaranteed! Probably reading some more smut too.'_

'Hmmm, you're right. Knowing him, he's probably lying on a warm, sun baked roof top somewhere so no one can find him and reading the day away. I wish I could join him. I love studying with him while we lay there, soaking up the sun.'

'_Don't worry, before you know it, we'll be in his arms again soon. Chin up kid.'_

Sakura sighed the kind of sigh that reflects regrets and homesickness. She had cooked the rabbit and preserves to something that wasn't half bad to eat and helped herself to some of the food.

Kaylina glanced over at Sakura. If the younger woman displayed homesickness, then they could be in trouble. Who the hell was homesick when they had deliberately left their village? Hidan and Kakuzu had also noticed Sakura's mood change, but Kakuzu didn't care to follow up on it since he was still annoyed by the mask incident.

"What the fuck bitch, you don't like traveling?" Hidan smirked at her when she stiffened and glared at him.

"First, I really, deeply resent being called a bitch. I'm pretty easygoing most of the time unless you piss me off. Then I'm a bitch. Second, I was lamenting the fact that I want a semi-permeant roof over my head if you must know."

"Oh, well that's fucking stupid and I'll call you whatever I want."

"Hmmm, okay then….fuck-tard boy." Hidan's eyes widen a smidgen and he frowned.

"What did you just call me? Bitch."

"I called you fuck-tard boy. Don't like it? Well, I'll call you whatever I want." She mocked him and he knew it.

"I don't think that's a good idea if you want to live to meet Leader. I deserve respect from you."

"You're right, you do, and you'll get it when I get respect back too. I don't understand why you felt you had to continually address me by that name, but it ends here. I don't want to hear it directed at me or Kaylina again. I sincerely hope you have a slightly larger intelligence to use our names. Else wise, I will continue to call you fuck-tard boy and not give a damn. Got it?"

Hidan glowered. He resented this little spit of woman telling him what he could and couldn't do to her. Respect, pah. What did she fucking know of respect? Hidan was silent as he contemplated the new boundary of his behavior. He realized after a few minutes that he liked her telling him no and meaning it. He was also intrigued by the way she carried her-self respect. Some people didn't have it and it became a weakness he exploited.

Kaylina was glad that Sakura had been able to cover it up with a very convincing thought process. She was also silently amused by the restrictions Sakura had placed on Hidan. How entertaining to see Hidan have to swallow his own bullshit.

Kakuzu was thinking on the same lines of Kaylina. He let his irritation with Sakura drop a few notches since she had effectively put Hidan in place and shut him up for a few blessed moments. Still, Kakuzu reminded himself, these two women needed to be aware of respecting any member regardless if it was returned. At this point, he dropped the issue, but would continue to watch Sakura and Kaylina.

Once the fire had burned down low, Kakuzu made a shadow clone to patrol around the campsite and keep an eye out for unwanted guests. Everyone pulled their bedrolls out and settled around the dying fire.

It was at times like these that Sakura allowed herself to muse. She was supposed to get attraction from the members of this feared organization after getting in and convincing them that she wasn't a spy. She figured that Itachi would be the hardest to fool while Kakuzu stood next in line. She didn't know anything about Pein or Konan so they remained wild cards. Kisame was reportedly a humorous kind of guy, so that shouldn't be too hard and Deidara was her own age with a fun loving personality. A member named Tobi was cited as behaving like a child which confused Sakura and made her wary. Zetsu was known to have a split personality so she would have to wait and see which one was easier to like.

Hidan was almost like Kakuzu. Sakura knew he had been staring at her butt and chest on and off since they met, but she had a feeling that getting close to Hidan emotionally was going to be the equivalent of trying to tickle Kakuzu. Really, really insanely hard. On some other level, Sakura also recognized the fact that she wanted this kind of male attention. She liked being desired and since Tsai, her confidence had taken a hit.

How to plant seeds of doubt and deflection in their minds? Ibiki had explained the idea of suggesting an idea to another person and making them think it was their own. It depended on a lot though. What the person's personality was like, what made them upset or happy, if they had quirks, tough pasts to deal with, how they viewed the world, and/or why they had joined the organization in the first place. Sakura knew that it was a long shot and she constantly reminded herself that the ultimate goal was to gather information. Pulling down the organization would go a lot smoother if she could learn what the individual members were like and share her knowledge with the world.

Turning over on her side towards the fire, she saw that Kaylina and Hidan were asleep, but Kakuzu was staring at the embers. He glanced up at Sakura's movement and their eyes connected. She saw a man who was harden by time and by isolation. He saw a girl who was open, forgiving, and ultimately too trusting. He turned onto his back to stare up at the sky.

'Potentially he likes to look at the stars too?'

'_Maybe, I figure he's been on this Earth close to 100 years, he has to notice them some time or another.'_

Sakura smiled at herself and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Dawn broke the way dawn always does. Light crept over the trees and the morning mists were pushed away. The beams tickled Sakura's eyes, kind of pricking them to open so she could start her day. She sighed quietly and enjoyed the feeling of warmth seeping into her bedroll. The birds were chirping, but only small, early morning animals had begun to move and she enjoyed the serenity around her.<p>

Kakuzu on the other hand, was awake on the instant those beams touched him. Where Sakura was basking in them, he concluded it was time to move. Right that minute. Without so much as a 'good morning sunshine' he told everyone to wake up and hit the road. Eat their breakfast on the road and Hidan, stop complaining. You can sleep when you're dead. That was how Kakuzu woke up.

So there they were, jumping again from tree to tree. Kaylina wondered how much longer it would be before they reached the base.

"Hey Kakuzu, how much longer before we reach the base?"

"We'll camp again tonight and travel tomorrow until noon where you and Sakura will be blindfolded. From there it's a few more hours."

"Ah, that's not too bad."

The day passed without incident and the routine was the same this night as it had been before. Sakura tried to make edible dishes from preserved food stuffs and fresh caught fish. Kaylina was situated across the fire from Sakura. Hidan and Kakuzu sat between the women facing each other. Kakuzu made another clone.

It was hellishly awkward for the third night in a row.

There wasn't a lot of talk and soon everyone was in their bedroll, waiting for the next morning. It weighed heavy that tomorrow, Sakura and Kaylina would be arriving at the base. Kakuzu had already conversed several times with Leader and everything was prepared for their arrival. The rooms had seals waiting to be activated, Leader had propositions lined out, and Kisame and Itachi were waiting to help dispose of the women if they proved "unfit" for being recruits.

Kaylina was just as worried as Sakura, but both women had discussed scenarios such as being split up and tortured, rape, excruciating tests, being held prisoner, setup to fail or lie, and/or blatant attacks. They felt confident that they would be "spilling their guts" in the same manner with the same story. They also had the chakra marks which continued to store chakra even if they couldn't use it because of the seal. Somehow, they would get those things removed. From 2 days of travel and 1 day previous of fighting, everyone around the camp was starting to feel slight exhaustion (never mind whatever else they had been doing before that). The fire eventually faded out and the four shinobi went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Dawn broke (blah, blah, blah) and Sakura woke with a jolt. Today was the day. At noon she and Kaylina would be blindfold, put their trust in two members who weren't very trustworthy, and enter a horrific enemy's territory. Hmmm, yeah, she could think of 1000 other things she would rather be doing right this second. Without having Kakuzu prompt her, she was up and already packing her sleeping gear for travel. Even Hidan was awake and moving without Kakuzu threatening or shouting at him. Today was going to suck.<p>

Traveling at this point went a little more cautiously then before. Kakuzu paired off with Kaylina and Hidan stayed next to Sakura. The two men thought it best to keep the girls separated from each other and essentially assigned a keeper to each one. Specifically the person who knew the particular woman's fighting style already.

Kakuzu still kept the threads wrapped around their waste though, since he could just slice them in half if that became necessary. He surprised himself when he concluded he didn't want that to happen. It was very rare he could talk to someone about days now regarded as past history and even rarer when someone wanted to see him, not for morbid fascination, but for pure curiosity. Still though, he knew that both Sakura and Kaylina had nice bounties on their heads, and if push came to shove, money always won.

Soon noon arrived. The group stopped and Sakura sacrificed a shirt to split into bands of cloth. She asked Kakuzu to tie the blindfold in place because she had a sneaking suspicion that Hidan would make it hurt after the previous night of boundary setting. He hadn't referred to her or Kaylina as a bitch since, but she wasn't stupid enough to think he had forgotten or was okay with it. Kakuzu obliged and wrapped the pieces around their heads multiple times before securing them tightly.

Kakuzu grabbed Kaylina's upper arm.

"Do what I do. Be extremely conscience of how I'm moving through my hand. We'll go slow so you don't fall down often."

Hidan just grabbed Sakura's upper arm and surprisingly, didn't squeeze the juice out of it. The two pairs began to move. At first, it was awkward and both women stumbled quite a bit. Soon though, they learned to tell the movements of Hidan and Kakuzu via their hands. A slight squeeze meant to jump, a pull in one direction meant to move in that direction, a push meant forward, and a downward tug was indication to jump down or stop. Sakura was increasingly astonished by Hidan as they moved closer to the base. Not only was he not squeezing her arm to leave bruises, he actually seemed to want to make sure she was okay and didn't fall! Shocking!

"Hidan?"

"What?"

"Thanks, I think…. for being gentle with me? I didn't think you had this capacity in you and it's kind of weirding me out."

"Would you fucking prefer I drop you on your ass or kick you while blindfolded? I can do that instead if you really want."

"Nah, I'm good."

The truth of the matter is that Hidan liked how smooth and creamy Sakura's skin felt. He liked the fact that she would bump and lean into him and grab him when she lost her balance or stumbled.

Sakura on the other hand, was becoming frustrated. She wanted to know when they would reach the base, she wanted the blindfold removed so she could walk like a normal human being, and she really wanted to be less dependent on Hidan of all people.

One comforting sound to her was that of Kaylina and Kakuzu right next to her. At least that reassured her that she wasn't being led into some dangerous and terrifying trap alone.

Kaylina was enjoying herself on the other hand. She thought it was great fun to be led around by a handsome looking man who was older than her and yet looked her same age.

* * *

><p>Some time passed with both women solely concentrating on placing their feet and following the men's movements. Sounds started to reach their ears of people talking, carts moving, and hawkers crying their wares. Sakura began to smell food being cooked and Kaylina could hear silverware clacking against bowls and plates. Laughter and arguments came to them while they jumped up onto surfaces that felt rippled and studded like roof tops.<p>

The group picked up speed as they moved closer towards the base. Not that Sakura or Kaylina knew this, but they felt the urgency through Kakuzu's and Hidan's hands. The silence within the group became tense and stretched. Too soon, Kakuzu halted and turned towards Kaylina. He had stopped outside of a building that looked like a soft cornered skyscraper but with too many cables and bundles leading to and from it.

"We're going to have to pick you two up and move you in towards Leader. I don't want you to memorize steps or leave marks leading back to the entrance. Don't speak unless spoken to. Keep your sentences short and to the point, and you will address Leader as such. Don't start fights and if you prove to have been lying, I will kill you."

With that he slung Kaylina over his shoulder and turned towards the entrance, Hidan right behind him with Sakura slung over his shoulder. Where ever she was, Sakura noted that all the light disappeared and the footsteps of Hidan and Kakuzu echoed off metallic walls. She also felt the air temperature drop and shivered slightly.

Hidan felt the small shudder that ran through her body. He was amused that she was pushing herself upright using his lower back. Her hands felt like tiny pads against his muscles.

Twists and turns followed along a long walk. Sakura tried to remember every twist from the entrance, but being upside-down and bounced around while blind actually made her slightly nauseated and she soon gave up after losing count. Never mind the fact that her heart was pounding and she felt the first inky, dark threads of doubt swimming around her stomach. Kami forbid that this meeting went wrong.

Almost nothing was known of the mysterious Akatsuki leader except for the fact that whoever this person was, he could control some very powerful and dangerous people. Sakura was deeply scared that he would see right through her's and Kaylina's stories and kill them without an issue.

Again, Kakuzu came to a halt and set Kaylina down on her feet. Hidan pulled Sakura down into his arms before setting her upright. He removed the blindfold and Sakura quickly shut her eyes from a light source. Said source came from inset lights over head that glared a bright, white light down on any surface, casting it harshly and making it appear sterile. When her eyes adjusted, she looked around the hallway she was in and saw only a dead end and three doors. Two in front of her and one behind her. As she suspected the walls were cast in metal and the floor was a white, non-descript tile. Kakuzu spoke again.

"Remember what I told you. If you really want to join, don't screw this up."

Kaylina and Sakura nodded. Kakuzu turned to the closest door, opened it and stepped inside. Kaylina followed, then Sakura, with Hidan bringing up the rear and closing the door behind them. Before the girls was an oblong table with a veneer wood covering and quite a few high-backed chairs spread around it. At the head of the table, partly covered in shadow sat a man whose face glinted oddly. On his right sat Itachi Uchiha and on the left was Kisame Hoshigaki. Kakuzu sat down in the chair next to Itachi and Hidan took the one next to Kisame. Not a single man moved or said anything.

Taking the cue, Kaylina sat in a chair at the furthest end of the table, opposite of the men and Sakura took a chair directly across from Kaylina. Both women folded their hands and laid them on the table. Both women looked to the man seated at the head of the table.

"I'm Leader and I have heard that you wish to join my organization." His voice was deep and rang with authority.

Sakura quickly decided to let Kaylina do most of the talking.

"Yes sir. As we have explained to Kakuzu and Hidan, we would like to join."

"Hmmm, yes, they explained what you told them to me. I have a few issues, however, with your stories. I would like to verify a few pieces."

"By all means, ask anything you like."

"I'm deeply curious as to why two medics who have left Leaf, have come together. If I understand your stories correctly, your individual reasoning for leaving mostly likely didn't happen at the same time."

"Yes and no, sir. I was having issues with Tsunade quite a long while before Sakura reached her own conclusions. It so happened that I overheard Sakura and Tsunade arguing one day over a mission assignment and I received my first inkling that there might be a similar problem between Sakura and Tsunade as there was between Tsunade and me. I later approached Sakura with my idea."

"And Sakura, you didn't report to Tsunade what Kaylina was proposing?"

Sakura blinked at being addressed and quickly formulated an answer.

"No sir. At first I was skeptical and slightly alarmed, but I also knew Kaylina to be a hardworking individual. I had no idea at the time what was going on between Kaylina and Tsunade. On top of that, I was just done with Tsunade and I could see where Kaylina was coming from. From my own experiences, I knew Tsunade to be selfish. She isn't called a princess for nothing."

"Hmmmm." Pein paused before asking his next question. "So explain to me how you two actually defected. Did you try and steal some important, forbidden jutsu? Did you attempt or succeed at killing a high ranking official? Did you maim some follow ninja? What exactly did you do?"

Again, Kaylina took the lead.

"We set fire to a number of important buildings, stole some forbidden medical jutsu, confronted Tsunade herself and beat the living hell out of the Copy ninja, Kakashi Hatake on our way out the door."

3 pairs of eyes widen slightly. Kisame was surprised that they managed to do all that and leave the village with whole skins. Hidan was impressed since all he had done when he left his village was kill the village leaders and Kakuzu was surprised as he hadn't known the extent to which these kunochis had gone to express their displeasure with their leader.

Itachi quietly remained unconvinced of their story. He personally knew that Leaf was willing to put on any show in order to achieve an ulterior motive. He reflected on his own clan's massacre and being made the scapegoat to avoid nasty, unstable politics.

"Well, you certainly have done it all, haven't you? One more issue remains. Most people who come to us looking to join have well established reputations. We can easily see who they have worked for and what their major skills are. Why haven't you two decided to establish yourselves? It would be a great deal easier than attempting to join our organization. You have no experience in which to show us you're capable of conforming to our ranks and rules."

Sakura did a major, mental sweat drop.

* * *

><p>'Inner, I think we're screwed. I never bargained they would question us in this way. Who would have thought they would want to know why we hadn't done other things before coming to them? I figured it would look bad if we screwed around and then came here. Boy, was I wrong or what?'<p>

'_Just calm down. It's a little off the wall, but not unthinkable. Just remain calm. Explain that you knew right where you wanted to go. Do NOT panic. Kisame can smell fear; he's part shark.'_

'Huza.'

Sakura took a deep breath, closed her eyes briefly, and then spoke.

"Kaylina and I began discussing the plans for our defection and what we wanted to do after we left. We know that there are prospects in Wave, but honestly? We didn't like Wave, no one in their right mind likes Wave, and we knew that the top organization right now was the Akatsuki. We pretty much had the mentality of go big or go home."

"Ah, I see." Again, Pein paused for a minute and considered the two women in front of him. "Well, as of right now, I have a decision to make concerning you two. I will be placing you both in rooms that are separated from each other and sealing you in there until I can decide whether to let you join or not. If I decide you aren't Akatsuki material, you will die and your bodies dispose of. Follow me."

Pein got up out of his seat and walked towards the door. He opened it and motioned for Kaylina and Sakura to exit in front of him. Kakuzu stood up and followed since those threads were still wrapped around each woman's waist. The party of 4 walked silently down the hall in the opposite direction of the meeting room.

After two intersections spaced evenly along an impossibly long hallway, Pein stopped at a door no different from the others and opened it. He turned towards Sakura first.

"This will hold you till I have decided matters. There is a bathroom and a bunk. If need be, a member will bring your meals to you, but you will ultimately never leave this room till I allow it."

Sakura nodded her understanding, but still glared at the Akatsuki leader. She resented being sealed into a room without Kaylina for company. She also didn't care for the implied aspect of being kept there for any particular length of time against her will. Still, if she argued now, it wouldn't help their case and they were supposed to be willing recruits. She stepped inside.

As soon as her feet crossed the threshold, Pein closed the door and Sakura spun around. A dominant, overwhelming chakra radiated through the wood and paralyzed her. It was dark, terrible, and devastating all at the same time. Watching with the same fascination a rabbit watches a snake slither towards it, she watched seals and words spread across the door. They moved and blended together in a blue-blackish mosaic so complicated, she became lost trying to focus on one particular spot or another. And that chakra! Kami, help and protect her. It had to be Leader.

She had felt Kakuzu's chakra flare and it didn't scare her or root her to the ground with pure fear. This man was a menace and he would bring serious damage to any village that tried to stop him and him alone! How the hell was anyone going to deal with him?

Once Sakura was sealed in the room, Pein walked a few doors down and stopped again. He opened the door and Kaylina stepped through. He didn't miss the slight paleness under her skin, the slightly widen eyes, or the small, tiny tremor that ran through her every step. His chakra wasn't like anything else on this planet and he knew it. It was the price he had paid to obtain his paths of pain and it was required to maintain his eyes. Sometimes he regretted having such power pent up inside, but the world needed peace. He would do anything to bring peace.

After sealing Kaylina inside her room, Pein and Kakuzu returned to the meeting room.

* * *

><p>Kisame, Hidan, and Itachi had already been discussing the kunochis' pending acceptance. With Pein entering the room, everything fell silent again.<p>

"Zetsu, I want you present for this meeting."

"**Hai**, Leader-sama." The voice sounded muffled and far away, and maybe that was the case. No one really understood how Zetsu got around so quickly. He tried explaining it once by using the difference between the speed of light and darkness, but no one could really comprehend what the speed of darkness actually was. Zetsu appeared a few seconds later seeming to have merged with the wall adjacent to the table and slowly separating himself from it. He had his customary Venus fly trap encasement surrounding his head and his golden eyes glowed. After extricating himself, he took a seat in the chair on Kakuzu's unoccupied side.

"What would you **like to discuss?**" Two different voice patterns were distinct when Zetsu spoke. It was like two people inhabiting the same body; they had different sources of information, argued between themselves, and even had different likes and dislikes.

"We have two potential recruits who have odd circumstances surrounding them. I would like you to verify their identities and their stories. Their names are Kaylina and Sakura and they come from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. They claim to have defected after setting fire to a number of structures, threatening their Hokage, stealing a few scrolls, and attacking fellow ninja. They cite reasons for defecting as being disagreements with their Hokage and that they defected together. I want all the information verified and more. If there is any hint of a whisper this was staged or their lying, return immediately. You will dispose of their bodies."

"**Yes** sir." With that, Zetsu sank right through his chair, right through the floor and was gone.

"Fuckin' glad plant man was sent out. I didn't want to run my ass to Leaf just to make sure these bitches are telling the truth. I deserve some Jashin damn rest."

"Hidan, shut up."

"Fuck you Kakuzu."

"Before you two love birds go at each other, what can you tell the rest of us about these two women? Itachi and I are still in the dark." Kisame loved poking fun at the Zombie Combo as he dubbed them. Hidan was always a source of amusement and so long as he didn't anger Kakuzu too far, he was safe from the older man's rage.

"Fuck you too Sharky! We both know that you and Kakuzu are made for each other, freaks that you both are." Kisame just smirked and rolled his eyes at Hidan.

"Says the man who runs around stabbing himself so he can get off on the pain. Rich Hidan, real rich. Now fill Itachi and me in on those two women. What are they like? What's their style in battle? What were they doing when you found them?" It was Kakuzu who spoke in a dry, fact like manner.

"The pink-haired girl's name is Sakura and the blond is Kaylina. Sakura is 20 and Kaylina is 56. Kaylina uses a jutsu to mask her age. Both women are powerful medics from Leaf and have had close ties with Tsunade. They both retain extreme strength, but only Kaylina has a substantial amount of chakra. Both use their brains in battle, but Kaylina likes to joke often while Sakura is innately curious about everything around her. Both have tempers, but Kaylina's is seen less while Sakura is definitely feistier. In battle they switch up between sharpening their chakra to blade points and creating large craters. I don't know about Kaylina, but Sakura can channel her chakra to specific nerve points and effectively paralyze her opponent. They're adapt at taijutsu and they both appear well versed in ninjutsu. I have no idea of genjutsu though. When we found them, they were helping out a local town with their medical skills and the townspeople gave them high praise for their work. That's about everything."

"Will they get along with the rest of the members?" Pein asked.

Hidan and Kakuzu glanced at each other and Hidan told Pein about the boundary Sakura had set on him.

"I think the two bitches will be fine so long as no one treads on their fucking sensibilities. Like I said, bitch didn't like it when I called her such."

Pein mused silently for a moment.

"Itachi, being from Leaf yourself, do you have anything to add?"

"I would be wary. Leaf has been known to put forth some extensive plans to achieve their ends. I see no reason to assume this is otherwise unless Zetsu can find hard evidence of both stories. I remember Sakura, but not Kaylina."

"You don't think that Kaylina may have come to the Leaf village during your absence?"

"It's possible, but if she has been affiliated with leaf for as long as she claims, I'm positive I would have heard her name at the minimum. I already knew about the Sannin before leaving and I estimate that Kaylina is roughly the same age as Tsunade. I would hypothesize that Kaylina is a close friend of someone's who may have been called out from wherever she's been staying."

"Do you think they're lying to us?"

Itachi hesitated. He was almost positive that Sakura and Kaylina were here to spy and report back. He remembered how dedicated Sakura was when he had seen her around his younger brother and he knew of the rookie 9's reputation as being fiercely loyal. He himself was still loyal toLeaf and had killed his clan to prove it. If he told Pein outright that they were lying, Pein would kill both women without hesitation, but if he said he believed them and his suspicions proved right, he would be questioned and possibly killed. The best thing to do would be to wait and see what Zetsu turned up with. In this way, it would be out of his hands, and he could continue to protect Leaf from the Akatsuki organization.

"I can't say either way right now. Their story seems without fault, but I'm waiting to hear what Zetsu will find. If they prove to be lying…"

He shrugged his shoulders and left the statement unsaid. Pein leaned back into his chair and thought about the two women. They would definitely be an asset to his organization and they didn't seem to be at odds with the two most volatile people he had (Hidan and Kakuzu), but they were young looking women. An organization with 8 robust, healthy men and 2 good looking women might be asking for trouble.

Still, Konan could take care of them and he could order explicit instructions for the two new recruits to be left alone. He silently hoped their story panned out; two full blown medics weren't to be passed up for an active deadly organization. Still, he wouldn't allow spies or traitors into his organization to disrupt his plans and he had solid commitments from every other member for life. He would accept no less; couldn't accept less.

"We will wait for Zetsu to return with information about Sakura and Kaylina. In the mean time, I want you all individually to meet with them and begin to establish working relationships with them. IF their stories pan out, they will be joining us." Hidan grinned and even Kakuzu's lips twitched upwards. Itachi breathed slightly easier, not that anyone could see or noticed a difference and Kisame felt a small patch of excitement. It had been some time since new blood had come in and that was always exciting. With that last instruction, Pein disappeared right from his seat in a blur of movement. The 4 men left sat there and looked at each other before making their way out the door.

* * *

><p>Once again, sorry that took so long to get out. I went over this chapter with a fine tooth comb to try and catch any errors. If you see any, please let me know.<p>

Hope you enjoyed and now the real hard part for Kaylina and Sakura begins. How do the girls make 10 different people like them? How? Who knows?

Keep reading and share with your friends. Reviewing is healthy for you (just fyi)!


	5. Chapter 5 - Revised

Aiya! I'm so sorry this has taken to so long! At least I didn't promise a schedule, therefore lying to you (my wonderful readers!) and dashing your hope against the rocks!

Please enjoy!

Waiting. Who liked waiting around when some man held your fate in his hands and didn't _bother_ to inform you when he would make up his mind? Sakura paced the inside of the room she was sealed in and wished for the hundredth time that the chakra seal on her didn't exist. What could they possibly be waiting for? The more she thought about it, the worse it seemed to be. If they were looking to prove her and Kaylina's stories and it took longer, then that must mean some discrepancy existed. Which meant that she and Kaylina would most likely be killed.

On the other hand, Sakura also concluded that if some discrepancy were the case, then they would be sending someone, or a group potentially, to Leaf to try and validate the story themselves. And validation would take time. Since 5 people knew of the original plan, it should be a convincing story by anyone the Akatsuki might talk to. Which was assuming the Akatsuki didn't outright attack someone or try and torture the information from another.

Sakura stopped her pacing and recognized that this thinking would get her nowhere. She was worried, and a little bit scared. She didn't want to fail before she had a chance at the true objective of the mission. Flopping herself down on the bed, she began to practice her breathing. If for nothing else, she could still train and workout. Soon she had a rhythm of inhaling, holding, and releasing. With every inhale she attempted to hold her breath a second longer.

An abrupt knock broke her concentration. Sakura sat up, alarmed. This must be it. Either she was going to be allowed to join or she would die here without a chance for a fight. As she watched, the seals began to retreat to the edge of the door. Oddly, the seals didn't _look_ broken, in fact, they looked _deactivated._ If she were to die or join, why not dispense with the seals all together? Once the seals retreated, another knock sounded.

"Come in."

To Sakura's morbid astonishment, Itachi Uchiha walked through the door. He looked at Sakura sitting up on the bed and raised an eyebrow

"I could be in here to kill you and you're lounging on the bed?"

"Could be?" She was tense and leaping at anything he said to try and discern her fate.

"Hm, _could_ be. You're fate is still undecided, but we have been encouraged to visit with you and Kaylina. _Should_ your story prove accurate, you will be joining us."

Sakura relaxed a slight bit with Itachi's statement.

"So…you left Leaf quite some time ago. How have you been?" inquired Sakura. Not that Sakura cared or anything since Sasuke had left and had rearranged his entire life to bring down Itachi. She figured that polite conversation, however, would serve her well in the future. Itachi on the other hand, smirked at Sakura's pitiful attempt to smooth over an awkward situation.

"I don't think you need to know what I'm doing or how I have been since leaving. I'm here to warn you. Right now, I can see through what you and Kaylina are up to. You both are playing an extremely dangerous game and if you aren't careful, you won't live long enough to regret the decision to come here."

Sakura's heart was pounding. Her mouth had fallen open slightly, her stomach was pure ice. How had Itachi seen through them so clearly?! He couldn't have put two and two together so quickly, could he? Who else had figured things out? Was he just messing with her? She closed her mouth and tried to regain her mental footing.

This was Itachi Uchiha, the genius prodigy from one of the most powerful clans. She knew there had been a potential he would catch on, especially because he was from Leaf. The reality was, she had sincerely believed that it would have taken longer and a slip up or two for him, never mind anyone else, to gain some suspicion.

"Who else knows? Are you the only one? Did you share your thoughts with someone else?" She was babbling and obviously flustered.

Itachi allowed a small smile to grace his lips. The desperation was somewhat endearing, but the amount of trust she had blindly shoved into him was rather stupid.

"Watch how loudly you say something and don't assume I'm on your side at all. I'm here to warn you and as far as I can tell, I'm the only one that has connected the dots. It would seem a pity for Leaf if the Hokage's apprentice was killed so easily. Then again, that would just contribute to our reputation as an organization. It could go either way Sakura. You're not in yet."

Sakura just stared at Itachi. If this man wanted to confuse her, he had done a good job. First, he revealed that he'd figured everything out and warned her about continuing the mission, then he turned right around and stated that no one else knew. He turned around a third time and stated he isn't an ally even after having the courtesy to inform her of his conclusions. What did he hope to accomplish by coming to her and telling her this rather than going to Leader? Sakura could instantly assume that Leader would take anything from Itachi and not think twice about its source.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be informing Leader that you think or know I'm a spy?"

"I know you're a spy; there is no doubt. I'm simply curious to see how you're going to make this work."

Sakura scowled. She didn't like being a piece of entertainment for someone else. Especially since she was inclined to believe that particular person was setting her up.

"Listen here, _Uchiha_. I'm not for entertainment. With this mission, I will do everything in my power to succeed. I suggest you stay out of my way. If you play nice, I'll put in a good word for you when Konoha breaks this organization into pieces." Her eyes glittered with anger and a bravery she wasn't feeling.

Before she could blink, she was pressed into the bed with Itachi on top, straddling her waist.

"I would be very careful how and who you talk to like that. _Kunochi._ I don't have to open my mouth to anyone to make your life a living hell and I won't tolerate being threatened."

His hand was on her throat and squeezing just enough to make her stop moving. She pulled air into her lungs trying to calm the intense throbbing of her heart and she licked just the tip of her upper lip.

Itachi's eyes followed the movement and he gazed half-lidded down on her. Pale, smooth face. Green, open eyes. Pink locks falling in a disordered array. One small feminine hand was wrapped around his fore arm and exerting pressure to make him move away. The other was pushing back against his chest. She was tiny compared to him and she seemed to fit underneath him perfectly. What an interesting aroma she had too. It was a combination of some flower scented shampoo, trees, and something else that was just so…_light_. He bent forward, inhaling a tiny whiff. Right above her chest.

"You smell good," then, as an afterthought, "Remember, Sakura, here you are among men. Men who won't see a fellow ninja. Men who won't see a comrade. They will see you as a _woman_. A weak woman if you don't prove them differently. And besides, I don't have to breathe a word to anyone to make you suffer. I just have to remind you that a price for silence can be paid in different ways. So, do you want to tangle with me or watch how you talk?"

Itachi stared down at her. More than a little angry, Sakura was officially creeped out.

"Get off me! Get out! You want to see what I'm made of? Take this damn seal off me and I'll punch you right through the next wall. How dare you threaten me with anything remotely degrading! I'm not a cheap piece of ass!" She hissed tightly at him. Inside, Sakura was seething. How dare he?!

She began to thrash underneath Itachi. Abruptly, he removed himself towards the door. It was an intimate position he had pushed her into and with her thrashing, he was sharply reminded of the fact. Inwardly, he was pleased. He remembered that only recently had Konoha reversed its' policy on the conduct of female ninja and he wanted to be sure that Sakura hadn't been considering anything so low. Besides, he had disguised a warning to her to further her awareness – which would help to keep her safe. Ultimately, her mission could help protect Leaf even more so than what he was doing , which made their two priorities align. For the time being.

Sakura was sitting up on the bed, panting and looking livid. Itachi decided that this would be the time for an exit.

"Remember what I told you today. I won't warn you twice." He stated quietly. Spinning on his heal, he swept from the room. The seals moved from the sides of the door, settling into their complex pattern once he had left. Still Sakura remained on the bed.

For the first time since starting the mission, she thought about how being a woman had its disadvantages and advantages. She knew there were different ways to entice, to convince a man. Hearing stories of retired kunochi who were renowned for their skills on the battle field and in the bedroom. Granted, the generation consisting of Kurenia, Anko, and a handful of others had put a definitive end to those practices. Nonetheless, Sakura had been instructed in how to seduce and use her body in order to complete certain missions. She had never (and hopefully would never) put those skills to use on any mission, but she knew them all the same. Would this mission require that level of vulnerability and duplicity? Could she even commit to something so personal with a group of people who wanted to murder one of her closest and most dear of friends?

Instinctively she knew she wouldn't be able to do it. No matter the critical nature of the mission, no matter the disappointment from lack of commitment, no matter the potential failure – she wouldn't sink so low or go so far. She didn't have to love to have sex, but she did have to trust.

Not having a clock didn't stop Sakura from being able to track the passage of time. From the beginning days of the ninja academy, she had been taught to develop her bio rhythms so she instinctively knew the hours of the day, changes in temperature or pressure, and sense impending movements. Right now, she figured she had been stuck in her room (it was hers' damn it all!) for 2 and half days.

A long while after the conversation has passed, Sakura admitted to herself that Itachi was indeed extremely good looking and he hadn't actually hurt her despite his overbearing (stretch the word out and heap a ton of sarcasm on to it) behavior.

'

_Kami help us both, girl! You had the sexy older Uchiha straddling your lap! Do you know how many women would kill to have been in your shoes?!'_

'Shut up inner. He's good-looking, that's all. He's still an asshole and the enemy.'

'_So? Who cares? I think we should jump his bones. I bet the poor guy doesn't get the right kind of attention. You know the one I'm talking about.'_

'Good Lord. Do you ever shut up?! I don't care to know if or how he gets laid and I'm certainly not about to deliver "special attention" to any man in this organization! Please pull your thoughts out of the gutter.'

'_No. And you're a spoil sport.'_

Sakura sighed and wished for the thousandth time she didn't have an inner cycle of thoughts that seemed hell bent on getting her into sticky situations.

She resumed her training schedule of sorts and proceeded to do some push-ups. This morning had started with meditation and breathing practices before moving into basic taijutsu. After this, she would do crunches, leg lefts, and move onto different taijutsu.

As she reached her one-hundredth push-up, her head snapped up. The seals were receding again from the door to the sides. Which could indicate another visitor, or someone to outright kill her.

Without a knock or warning, the door opened. Being on the floor, Sakura ended up staring at a pair of ninja shoes with some toes poking out from the socks.

Hurridly, she stood up. Her eyes traveled up…and up…and up to look at Kisame. The monster from the Village Hidden in the Mist. She vaguely recalled that Kisame had worked with Zabuza, who had been regarded as the demon from the Village Hidden in the Mist. She wondered if all of the legendary swordsmen from mist had horrible titles.

Kisame stared down at Sakura. She had her head tilted to one side with a very curious expression on her face.

"See something you like cupcake?"

She started and blushed slightly after being caught staring. Stuttering she said, "No. Why would I like you?"

An eyebrow quirked at Sakura's response, causing her blush to deepen. Not only had she been staring, which was rude, but she had inadvertently insulted him as well. Nice way to start a friendship.

"There is no call to be rude. I haven't even done anything," Kisame snipped.

"Sorry, you just caught me off guard. Can we start over?"

Kisame let out a chuckle.

"You want me to leave the room and walk back in with you on the floor? Maybe you'll say hi and introduce yourself properly?" he paused, almost giving her a chance to answer. Then, "I don't think so kid, nice try though."

It was obvious Kisame was laid back, even humorous. In all honestly, Sakura didn't think she would have a problem getting along with this guy, despite the skin color, pupils (or lack thereof), and deadly sword strapped to his back. He reminded her of Genma, a little.

She smiled at Kisame and got a smile in return. He didn't miss when she blinked at his rows of sharp teeth. By this age, he was used to it and he waited for the outburst, awaited the cry of "OMG!" or "You're a freak!" or "Get away from me!" It didn't matter who it came from or what he was doing. Only a handful of people hadn't reacted that way when he'd first met them and they were dead. But Sakura never said anything, she just stared at him.

Halfheartedly joking, Kisame yawned, "Take a picture will ya? It'll last longer. I even promise to hold still if you get my good side."

Sakura face palmed. Once again, she had been staring. _Why_ was she being so rude?

Apologetically, Sakura stammered, "I'm sorry Kisame, I'm really not this rude. I'm just curious. All I can think is it must really hurt when you bite your tongue."

Such an honest comment caused Kisame to laugh out loud. She was a kick. And to add to it, she hadn't freaked out when she saw his teeth! Looking at her again, he noticed that she was incredibly small – compared to him. Most people were usually shorter than him, quite a few smaller too, but once in a while he would find someone that was smaller and shorter. Take for an example, comparing Kakuzu to Kisame; Kakuzu is shorter, but not smaller. Sakura was both small and short; like a midget almost.

Sakura broke into his thoughts, "So, you obviously came to see me about something, right?" A momentarily silence elapsed between them. Finally Kisame admitted, "Yeah, I'm supposed to become acquainted with you pending your acceptance."

"Ah…how interesting, I think."

Sakura had a confused, slightly scrunched look on her face. It was puzzling as to why the members of the Akatsuki organization had been ordered to introduce themselves, much less attempt to create some kind of camaraderie with her.

Kisame and Sakura stared at each other. With an awkward beat between them, neither knew what to do or say next. In that light, they independently opted for the cliché and conventional.

"So…." Sakura said as prompt.

"So?" Kisame rebutted with pointedly.

A huff escaped Sakura, "Are you going to say or do something fish-face? It's not like I have anything better to do but keep my face in front of yours if you're going to be here."

"I don't care for that nickname, ya know," Kisame's mouth pressed into a thin line, his expressive eyes slightly wide, "Have I given you an unpleasant name? No?" For a dramatic effect, Kisame paused, feigning difficulty in recalling what he'd dubbed her. "I think I called you cupcake to be exact. Not something like forehead or billboard brow or pinky."

Despite the potential insults, Sakura couldn't contain a laugh. Kisame was comical to say the least and Sakura felt relaxed in his presence.

The inquisitive nature she retained, however, was deeply interested as to his appearance. Why did he have the features of a shark? Were the more like him? How did he come about? Was he more human or more shark? What advantages and disadvantages came from looking and being what he was? What was his diet like? How was his body put together? Could he reproduce with another human and/or another shark? Did he eat differently?

So many questions tumbled through her head. Did she dare ask any of them? She remembered Kakuzu's rejection of her request and she had feeling that Kisame might be the same way. Beyond treating him more like a test subject and a little less human, she would also be prying into personal information. Information she needed, but doubted he would be willing to just hand over.

Glancing up at Kisame, Sakura crossed the room to plop herself on the bed. Her legs splayed across the covers as she leaned back into the wall. One heavy puff of breath blew her bangs from her face. Kisame settled for the one and only chair. He threw his leg over, settling his crossed elbows on the back of the chair. Samehada was propped against the desk, within reach.

A moment passed. After another awkward lapse and several blinks, Sakura stated, "Okay then, I'll start. Hi," she eyeballed Kisame. "My name is Sakura Haruno and I'm 20 years old. Recently, I've defected from Leaf with my partner, Kaylina – we sought out the Akatsuki organization, hoping to join. Currently, I'm locked in a room with a guy who towers over 6'6"," a forced laugh escaped Sakura, "He's blue and, if he wanted, could probably eat me like a shark! On top of that, I don't know if I'll be accepted into the Akatsuki or killed!" A pause followed her rant, then, "So how are you doing today, sir?" A cheeky grin betrayed her playful mannerism

Kisame found himself laughing out loud twice in as little as five minutes.

"Hilarious Haruno. I'm Kisame Hoshigaki and I'm a swordsman from Wave." A smile curved his lips. "I eat pink-haired ninja for breakfast." He let that one sink in before expounding. "I like water, and enjoy the occasional fish, skillfully filleted, of course."

Staring with an incredulous expression, Sakura finally managed to raise an eyebrow.

"Skillfully filleted fish? Is it weird to eat things that might be related to you?"

Kisame's face scrunched. "Uh, no? I'm mostly human. Eating fish is quite natural. Moreover, being from Wave, I get to enjoy the finer delicacies of seafood."

"That's about the only thing wave has to offer it seems." Sakura grumbled, "That, and beaches."

Kisame balked. "Hey now, Wave has other benefits too! See? It produces good looking men, such as me, and it has a great training program for survival."

"Ah yes, the non-voluntary, but rather _compulsory_ program of cut throat attitude and unwilling participants. My, why don't I vacation in Wave?" An eye roll coupled with heavy sarcasm accompanied the question.

"Yes, that one!" Kisame joined her flippancy, "I found it to supply much needed training. I mean, look how I turned out; great, I know. Not like what they have in Leaf I suspect."

Pressing her lips together in a superior smirk, Sakura quipped, "Please, anyone from Leaf can take on anyone from wave. We've kicked ass before."

"Oh you think so? I bet one on one I would beat you in a sparring match, easy."

"You're on gills, you and me, no weapons; just skill and chakra. I'll take you on anywhere, anytime." Sakura felt that since she had gotten so close to defeating Hidan, Kisame couldn't be that much different…at least she hoped not.

As if reading her mind, Kisame responded, "Just because you almost beat Hidan doesn't mean you'll lay a finger on me. I can kick Hidan's ass squarely from sun up to sun down. Anyone who has a brain in their head can kick that man's ass. Just ask Kakuzu. Ask him how many times he has had to pull Hidan out of a sticky situation."

Disbelievingly, Sakura harrumphed. "Hmph, we'll see." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Water based ninja aren't much good against things like lightning or fire. Plus, I have speed and agility and you have power and strength."

It was Kisame's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You think that's all I've got? Do you realize that if that was all that I had, I would never have become a swordsman of the Mist or even survived my genin days? If I were you, I wouldn't be so hasty to make assumptions about an opponent you haven't fought yet. You're supposed to be _smart_, remember?"

Sakura glared at Kisame, who glibly smirked back at her. "I _am_ smart and I _will_ beat you into a blue – purplish pulp." With that Sakura stuck her tongue out, not really having any comeback on the tip of said tongue.

Kisame smiled again, understanding now why Hidan had warned him of her temper. He could see how to get her riled easily and hoped that she would be as good as Hidan described in their match. Since there really wasn't anything else to talk about, Kisame stood up to leave. Despite the almost insulting banter, Sakura was slightly dejected that he was leaving as she hadn't seen or had any contact in 2 days. Moreover, he wasn't tough to be around like Leader or Hidan. She got up if for nothing else to play a semblance of a good host and watched him strap Samehada to his back and walk towards the door.

"I'll be back in another day or two. Hopefully it won't be to kill you." With that last parting remark, he stepped out insuring the seals returned to their original place. Sakura was left standing in the middle of the room, with a WTF look on her face. What a thing to say when you left! She was also concerned that the organization was still in deliberation over her story. How long could it possibly take to obtain information that had probably been spread far and wide by now and make a decision? Not that she was eager to die, but she certainly would like to move out of this one room. It wasn't like there was a ton of stuff to do or any entertainment.

Throwing her hands to the air, she shook her head and resumed her routine. If only to maintain sanity.

While Sakura was mulling over her predicament (plus Kisame's parting words), in addition to worrying about Kaylina, the rest of the Akatsuki organization appeared in full attendance to hear Zetsu report his findings and to (hopefully) accept two new members. They convened in the same meeting room whether via hologram or physical presence.

"Zetsu, report."

"**Hai**, Leadersama. **It would appear that Sakura and Kaylina have been telling the truth.** The only two issues that I found are the substance that was used to start the fires apparently was custom made not to burn too hot or spread too quickly and the other problematic fact is that no one seems to be able to agree on which forbidden scrolls were actually taken. **I find this intriguing since forbidden scrolls are well documented and recorded, and any that go missin****g….****the village missing them makes every attempt to recover them.** Why doesn't anyone know, at the minimum, the name if not the nature of these scrolls?"

Pein said nothing to this as he contemplated.

"If these are the only two issues, they don't present me with enough doubt to kill Kaylina or Sakura. Being that the case, I accept them both into this organization. However, I want them watched until I say otherwise. Any sign of defection, lying, and/or spying is to be reported immediately to me and no other. Do I make myself clear?" A chorus of 'Hai, Leadersama' sounded around the table.

"Good. A few other rules need to be applied as well. These women are fellow ninja. They are not to be harassed because they appear young. The man I find who can't behave in a professional manner dictating his position will be the first man I rip apart. I will not tolerate anything less. Am I clear?" Again, agreement across the board. At least verbal.

"Also, as they are new, I will be assigning each female with a different team. Sasori and Deidara, Sakura will be under your care until I rotate her to a different team. Itachi and Kisame, Kaylina will be joining your ranks until I say otherwise. Any questions?"

Deidara shifted uncomfortably.

"Leadersama, I don't mean to argue with your decisions, un, but I have no idea what this woman is like. Sasori and I have a duality that works well with our styles. I'm not sure I want some rookie mess things up, un."

"She is quite capable of handling herself. You can ask Hidan for details after this meeting. She is a close range fighter which will complement your and Sasori's long range abilities. My decision is final." Deidara glanced across the table to his partner who gave a tiny shrug. They would just have to meet the new member for themselves and figure out what to do with her at that point.

"Beyond the two members, we are moving ahead of schedule with plans. We will begin to become more aggressive and I will be requiring not only that more missions from you be completed, but they must also be completed quickly. You are dismissed." With such a short and sweet meeting, the holograms faded and the members physically present stood up to move and go about their own, individual business.

Since Sasori and Deidara had been physically present, they decided to deliver the news of acceptance and acquaint themselves with their newest charge. Much to Deidara's displeasure, Itachi rose to accompany them to gather up Kaylina. Walking down to the girls' rooms remained uneventful and Itachi split off to walk further to gather Kaylina. Stopping outside of the door that stood between them and Sakura, Deidara turned to regard Sasori.

"How do we go about this Danna un?"

"First, it becomes pertinent that we meet our new member doesn't it?"

"Yes, but I worry that she'll be difficult. Kisame mentioned that she was young and I don't want to baby sit beyond what Pein has already ordered un."

"Hmmph, we don't have a choice." Without another glance, Sasori dispensed with seal placed on the door.

Watching the seal completely fade from the door, Sakura knew that the time to either die or move forward had arrived. She hoped that someone was here to inform her of her acceptance, but if not, she wasn't going down without a fight. She stood in the middle of the room waiting for someone to walk in, but no one did.

A few more minutes passed.

A moment after that, a pounding sounded on the door that sounded like someone was trying to break it down.

"Come in." Hearing a soft, feminine voice call through the door, Sasori walked into the room followed by Deidara. Both males were mildly astonished to see a girl no more than 20 with pink hair standing in the middle of the room.

Deidara's first thought was that she was cute and Sasori was less than pleased to find out she appeared younger than Deidara which meant he would have two seemingly child like people to deal with.

"My name is Deidara un. This is my partner, Sasori. We're here to escort you out of this base to our living quarters since you have been accepted un." Sakura took a deep breath as a huge grin began to make its way across her features. She wasn't going to be killed after all! Today had to be a good day, right?

"Pleased to meet you, my name is Sakura. I haven't heard anything about you two since coming here." She tilted her head inviting explanations. Sasori snorted.

"Of course not, little girl. It's no one's business to inform you about any other member. Now follow us. I'm done wasting time." In that instant, Sakura decided she didn't like Sasori.

There was something about his brisk manner that rubbed her the wrong way. He acted like she was deliberately wasting his time, like she should have known certain things already. Glancing up at Deidara, she found him frowning towards Sasori as well. Perhaps she wasn't the only one annoyed by Sasori's demeanor.

Deidara caught Sakura looking at him but turned to follow Sasori out the door while Sakura grabbed her pack off the desk. Walking side by side behind Sasori, Sakura felt the first inkling of butterflies in her stomach. It had something to do with a certain guy who had blue eyes, a nice tan, looked somewhat like her friend Ino but was distinctly masculine. When was the last time she had felt butterflies? Not since her genin days, that was for sure.

Sakura found Deidara to be handsome, attractive. She got a sense that suggested he liked doing things for their enjoyment, having fun, and a slight mischievous streak. Slightly chastising herself for being romantic, Sakura ran through what little information she had read about the two members surrounding her.

Deidara was known for bombing via aerial attacks. He had some weird blood-line trait that gave him mouths on his palms and allowed him to infuse chakra into various types of C-charged clay. Sasori hailed from Suna. He was considered a master of puppetry along with being a master of poisons. Both were considered long range fighters and it was unknown what their fighting style was when faced with close combat. Sakura made several mental notes to steal Sasori's poisons for antidotes along with engaging both males in numerous rounds of hand-to-hand.

She found herself walking with her two new proctors along the same hallway she had transversed several days earlier. However, instead of going back to the ghastly meeting room, they exited the building what Sakura assumed was the back door.

Quickly she found herself in a yard of sorts that had one trail leading away into a sparse forest. The building itself seemed to sit on the outskirts of the town that she had passed through blindfolded. Standing still for a moment to take everything in that she could see, she concluded that she was in Amegakure based on the constant rain and the odd structure of the buildings. She had never been to Ame before, but everything she had read about it described the huge statue like buildings, the down pours, and the resilient people. An urge to explore everything started in her gut and rapidly spread all over.

However, Sasori and Deidara were walking along the worn path out towards the forest leaving Sakura to stand there by herself. Since it seemed that they were trusting her somewhat not to stab the living daylights out of them with their backs turned, she felt safe enough to ask someone to remove the chakra seal on her back.

"Would either of you gentlemen be so kind as to remove this God forsaken seal so that I may use my chakra?" She laid as much contempt referring to the seal as humanly possible.

Stopping to look back at their newest member, both Sasori and Deidara considered the request. In Sasori's opinion the twat shouldn't have the seal removed until he could be certain she knew what she was doing. Deidara took a step forward already having formed the hand seals since he had intended to put his arm around the dainty pinkette claiming he was "removing the seal" if she got too feisty and chose to brain him.

To say that Sasori was displeased by Deidara's bold actions might have been a tad bit of an understatement. Sasori didn't care for the tiny, slight feral gleam he saw in Deidara's eye. It meant that the stupid bomber was attracted to the stupid pinkette! Hadn't Deidara been listening when Leader told them that she was hands off? Before Deidara could move any closer towards Sakura, Sasori spoke.

"Why should we remove that seal? As far as the rest of us are concerned, you're still a threat and I see no reason to treat you any differently than that. Little girl." Sakura glared her best.

"What is your problem with me? I haven't met you for more than 5 minutes and you are one of the rudest members I have come across. You're worse than Hidan." Sasori's eyes narrowed. Now that was an insult; to be considered worse than Hidan in any regard.

"Sasori, I don't think you're giving Sakura a fair chance un. If Leader has sanctioned her, than all that's left is to train her and make sure she understands how this organization works. You don't have to be rude about it, un."

Deidara was confused about his partner's behavior. Sure, Sasori wasn't the nicest guy to get along with, but he was hardly the caliber of Kakuzu, Hidan, or Kami forbid, Itachi. With that being said, Deidara approached Sakura. He ran chakra into his fingertips, bringing one hand down on her forehead while the other rested on her stomach. Sakura felt the glass shield slide away. Without the barrier, she pumped chakra into her muscles, feeling them stretch and compress with the pure, raw energy. Sasori eyed her warily. Deidara, not being the rude individual, beamed a smile at Sakura.

"How does that feel, un?"

Sakura beamed back, "It's so alive! It's running through my system like it was parched! Thanks a ton Deidara!"

Spying a small boulder off to one side of the path, Sakura raced forward. Pulsing as much chakra possible, she shattered the poor, innocent rock. Chakra was a wonder, beautiful thing she would never undermine again.

Sasori narrowed his eyes. She was about as loud and destructive as Deidara. Thank Kami he wasn't human anymore so that he wouldn't have to seek medical attention from her. Sasori spoke to remind them to keep moving forward.

"Move it, both of you. You may play later when you aren't wasting my time. And Haruno? Don't be a show off; no one here cares." A small, condescending smirk spread across his lips. Sakura, on the other hand, was annoyed.

'If I didn't know any better inner, I would almost suspect Sasori has something against me personally. What is his problem?'

'_Potentially he likes you? He needs to get laid? He didn't get breakfast?'_

'As must as I hate to admit it, it seems Itachi was right.'

'_I agree. I do, but I wonder if there isn't something more to it. It's odd that he doesn't even know you, yet he's been judging you since the first second.'_

'I really don't like him.'

'_Too bad. You have to not only like him, but get him to like you back. Remember, it's for the sake of this grand ol' mission.'_

'Shut up.'

Deidara watched as Sakura ground her teeth, glaring daggers at Sasori. Becoming concerned for her dental health or the possibility that she might attack Sasori (who was walking away), Deidara decided to say something for distraction's sake.

"Don't worry too much about him, un. I have no idea what his problem is, but I don't think it's really you. He just doesn't like new comers…..I think." Sakura turned her head towards Deidara. She glanced back towards Sasori with an apprehensive look on her face.

"Are you sure it isn't me?" She asked. "It certainly feels personal enough."

"I wouldn't let it bug you un. Let's keep moving though." Deidara leaned over conspiratorially cupping Sakura's ear. "I don't think I want Sasori turning around and continuing to bitch at us un." Sakura let out a small giggle.

A small, sudden nip on her ear caused her to inhale sharply, covering said ear with her hand. She glanced sharply at Deidara to find a small blush spreading across the bridge of his nose. Without a word, he held up his hand. Sakura's eyes widen a slight fraction.

"Is that a mouth in your hand?!" Sakura squeaked. She grabbed his hand to study the mouth better. It seemed to look and behave like a regular, on your face mouth. She had known what the reports said, but to read was one thing, to see, another. She wondered if there was some kind of digestive tube running the length of his arm.

Did it lead to one stomach or multiple? Did he have a restricted diet or could he eat anything with them? How did this occur? Did he have to brush and maintain this mouth like his regular mouth? Could this mouth kiss like the one that was offering her a sheepish smile? That last thought startled Sakura. Why did she care if he could kiss at all? Yeah, he was good looking, but honestly! She just met the man!

Deidara tugged gently at his hand. Realizing that she still had his hand in a grip, Sakura let go.

"I….I can't always control what my hands do, sorry about that." Deidara shrugged a little bit uneasily worried that Sakura would be repulsed. Flicking a few strands of hair out of her eyes while continuing to walk, she stated exactly what she thought about Deidara and his hands.

"I think your hands are cool. What do you use them for?"

"Um, mostly I use them for making art because I believe that art is a bang, un!"

"Like bombs? You don't use them to eat or anything?" She asked.

"Not really, they eat clay to produce the bombs, but occasionally I'll feel one of them chewing on a pencil or my fork while I'm eating un."

"Can you get sick from one of them eating something it shouldn't?"

"I don't think so. If they can tolerate clay, I'm thinking they can handle anything."

"Interesting. Do you have some kind of digestive tubes to lead to your stomach?"

Deidara looked into Sakura's face. He could see that she had a curious, insatiable nature to her coupled with a professionalism that invited answers to her questions. Intrigued by his finding, Deidara wondered how someone could look mature, yet ask questions like a five year old without annoying him or digging too deeply. He could see that Sakura was the same age as himself, but he felt like she had an old soul to her. It was opposite of the description he often received concerning himself which made Deidara consider the idea of him and Sakura potentially being friends. Opposites were said to attract.

"You certainly are curious about everything, aren't you un?" Quipped Deidara.

"I apologize if any of the questions are too personal or offensive. I do have a an inquisitive nature and couldn't help it when you showed me." Fearing another rejection similar to the one Kakuzu had given her, Sakura put a hip's width of space between herself and Deidara. Seeing this, Deidara gave a small frown, promptly closing the gap.

"I don't mind Sakura-chan. I really haven't had anyone express such an interest in my abilities."

A small, somewhat absent minded "Oh" was heard from Sakura.

The walk to the living quarters of the Akatsuki organization didn't take as long as expected by Sakura. Roughly 25 minutes from the building she had stayed in, she stood before a one level building. At first glance, it looked something a kin to offices, but a second glance showed the terraces underneath the windows, drapes in most of the same windows, and a general homey feeling emanated from structure. Sasori approached the front door to open it. Sakura saw some kind of barrier briefly touch Sasori before falling away to allow him passage to the interior. It would make sense that the Akatsuki would have some deadly trap guarding the front door so Captain-Save-A-Ho couldn't barge in.

Feeling slightly nervous, she eyed the barrier.

"Hey Deidara, is that thing going to recognize me as a non-threat or am I going to be incinerated on the door mat?" Deidara pondered the same question.

"I'm almost positive that your chakra has been integrated into the matrix. If not, you're with me anyways, so the barrier will retreat no matter what. Just stay close un."

"Mmm, okay."

Since Sasori hadn't bothered to wait, much less hold open the door, Deidara had to step up allowing the barrier to feel his presence. With Sakura right by him, the barrier briefly touched her skin sparking goose bumps. It then retreated into the wood door frame, accepting them.

Following Deidara into the interior, she heard him comment.

"See? Your chakra must have been integrated else wise the barrier would have turned red to alert us that someone was entering the base who may or may not be allowed."

Sakura took stock of the view before her. The door led immediately into a living room like arrangement. A TV with 3 long couches shaped in a U bracketed by bookcases filled one half of the room while the other half contained a small table and a few chairs for reading or card playing. From the living room, to the side of the couches was a swinging door that led to the kitchen. The kitchen, as expected, could accommodate 10-15 people. Two long tables, an island with pots and pans hanging above it, a massive grill combined with a stove top, an oven and an extra large dishwasher. Plates and silverware were located on a counter (that ran between the appliances) sorted by various nice looking racks and containment units.

It was through the kitchen that Deidara took Sakura leading her to a hallway lined with various other doors. Most of the doors were unmarked except for one here and there. Spreading her chakra out, Sakura felt a few new signatures along with a couple she recognized. One of those being recognized was Kaylina. Sakura pulsed her chakra to let Kaylina know she was here and safe (safe being a relative term.) Deidara walked down the length of the hallway towards the end, stopping outside an unmarked door. He turned to Sakura.

"This is your room, un. You have your own bathroom inside, your own bed, and your own closet. It's up to you to keep your room however you want, no one cleans it for you un. Since this room hasn't been used in forever, you're mostly likely going to need to clean it. The kitchen will have everything. If you want help, my room is right next door." He pointed to a door that looked slightly burnt in two areas. It also seemed to have dried clay stuck to it. Sakura sighed a little bit since cleaning wasn't what she wanted to do right now (more like explore), but opened the door none the less to survey her new domain.

So I have a beta now! She is my amazing sister who writes 1000x better than me. She edited the first 7 pages of this chapter before I piled on the other 5.

Anyways, I'm writing in between bouts studying and such so that partially explains the lateness. The other part of the excuse is that my sister is super busy and she can't turn right around with her editing.

Let me know if you like the improved writing vs the previous chapters. I strongly suspect you could see a difference.

I'm working on the next chapter and hopefully it'll be done a lot sooner than this one!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed or favored my story. Each time I saw an email informing me, I got a warm fuzzy which really made the day I received it. It's a super cool feeling. Thank you.


	6. Chapter 6 - Revised

One piece of business that needs to be taken of care here and now before I forget one more time:

I don't own, will never own, don't claim to own, and don't want to own any of the Naruto characters what so ever. This statement stands for everything I have written, will write, and so much as spit on or at. Complete and utter disclaimer that covers my ass, completely. Like granny panties. Yeah, I don't own and won't pretend to.

Ever.

So, on with this chapter. :P

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><p>Stepping out of a hot shower, Sakura flopped down into her chair. Her eyes closed, she willed the aches and pains from cleaning to roll off her much the same way the steam was doing. She occasionally enjoyed the crazed cleaning sessions that left one feeling invincible and refreshed (particularly after a gruesome night at the hospital), but this wasn't one of those times. Between the nervousness at being in a new base and the random, unknown chakra signatures floating around, cleaning did nothing but serve her anxiety.<p>

Her stomach chose that moment to voice its complaints effectively deterring any continuing thought processes. Standing to retrieve some clothes from her travel pack, she decided to snag Kaylina.

Leaving her room, Sakura walked down the hall. The hallway was huge. The side that her room was on held most of the personal rooms, but the other half could have been anything as far as she was concerned. Sakura knocked swiftly on Kaylina's door.

"Come in kid." The door swung open noiselessly. Like herself, Kaylina had spent a great deal of time cleaning and organizing.

"So I'm heading to the kitchen to see if they have edible food in this place. Would you like to tag along?"

"Absolutely, but I was thinking we should send a message to Tsunade. She has to be wondering what we're up to especially since we haven't returned home with our tails between our legs."

Chewing her lip, Sakura thought for a brief moment. She recalled Sasori's adamant refusal and explanation about being a threat. She didn't need to be a rocket scientist to figure out that his sentiment most likely was shared by a few others. The question became, who?

"I think we should hold off for a bit more. I don't want already suspicious people to wonder why we keep giving off tiny flares of chakra. I think we should wait for an opportunity to present itself where an extra bit of chakra will go unnoticed." Sakura chewed her bottom lip in consternation.

Kaylina leaned further back into the bed thinking on Sakura's words. She wondered why Sakura had become hesitant.

"What happened that makes you hesitant?" Kaylina asked softly.

Sakura snorted angrily remembering Sasori. She explained to Kaylina everything that transpired since stepping out of the holding rooms and meeting him for the first time.

Kaylina whistled low. "Wow, he sounds like a dick. I wonder why he doesn't like you so much. It's understandable why you aren't hot to talk to Tsu."

"On top of that, I'm almost certain that others must share his sentiment as well. This means that we have to be extra careful about what we do and around who." Sakura said. She didn't share Itachi's message with Kaylina. To Sakura, the encounter was still weird. It still caused small tingles to start at the base of her spine too.

A thought trickled from the back of Sakura's mind to the front. She began to suspect that Kaylina wouldn't have the same problem that she would face because Kaylina exuded a maturity that didn't invite idiocy. Most likely from having lived close to 60 years. Herself, on the other hand, was young. Pure and simple. Not to say that Sakura wasn't mature, but her temper was definitely more noticeable and never mind the fact that youth has its own distinct characteristics. There was nothing she could do to hide or change these facts which painted a solid bull's eye on her back for being written off and harassed.

Brushing aside those thoughts, Sakura growled slightly at the amount of resistance that continued to crop up. Her stomach chose to growl along with her alerting Kaylina to the fact that Sakura was indeed hungry. One set of green eyes looked into another set and a blonde eyebrow was raised.

Sakura harrumphed, "Can we get food now or can I give permission to my stomach to eat me from the inside out?" Kaylina chuckled and stood up to leave. Upon opening said door, Sakura ran face into chest of some impossibly tall male. Damn chiseled muscles! No matter how good they looked, they still hurt to run into. She moved her eyes upward to glare at the offender.

Woe upon Sakura! Who else would she run into than Hidan himself?! What could that insufferable bastard possibly want?! And how long had he been standing there?

Snapping with a glare that would kill lesser men, "What do you want you ass?"

Smirking at the fiery pinkettte, Hidan stated, "I cut my damn arm too deep. Heal it."

Sakura glanced towards the proffered arm. Sure enough, blood was making a white hand towel look a striking shade of red. She gave two brownie points to Hidan for not allowing his blood to drip all over the floor. That was all the brownie points he would ever be earning. Gently lifting part of the towel away, Sakura bent slightly over his arm to look at the wound. It was deep, angry, and already showed signs of healing itself.

A thought came to Sakura. If he could heal almost instantly in battle, why was he bothering to have her heal him now? Could he slow his healing process by will?

Sakura looked briefly into Hidan's eyes. She witnessed some kind of calculating gleam but didn't understand what it meant. Deciding not to stand around any longer, her hands became incased in green chakra. She pushed the chakra to heal the slice from the inside out. That way she could eradicate potential infection plus she wouldn't be leaving a scar. Nothing bugged Sakura more than scars. They indicated sloppy or hurried work. On top of that, any medic worth their salt should be able to go back over a scar to remove it. Most simply didn't bother. Quickly, the slice in Hidan's arm was healed.

"Well, that should do it. How does your arm feel? Can you move it without a problem?" Sakura asked.

Hidan twisted his arm this way and that. He flexed his muscles (which Sakura disgustingly noted were nice to look at) and clenched his fist.

"Yeah, it works just fine. Thanks for whatever shit you did. It feels a lot better than stitch ass's threads running through me." Sakura had a confused look on her face.

"Hidan, can I ask you a question?"

"What the fuck do you want now?" He demanded.

"Why is it that you came to me for healing at all? You healed yourself in battle like nothing and yet, you spoke just now of needing stitching from Kakuzu. Does your self-healing come infrequently?" Sakura asked.

Hidan looked at the big, inquisitive, green eyes staring up at him. He couldn't recall the last time someone was genuinely interested in his abilities. It was flattering, in a way.

"Fuck me. (A deadpanned, 'No thanks' from Sakura) I heal in battle almost instantly because of my religion. In battle, I have the chance to acquire a sacrifice for Jashin. At any point that I have that opportunity, Jashin bestows a special blessing along with my immortality that gives me an unbeatable advantage. That way, nothing can interfere with my offering. Get it now?"

Sakura wasn't quite sure what to think.

"Hidan, do you like pain?" The question popped itself out of Sakura before she could stop it.

"Fuck yeah! Jashin-sama gets off on pain! The more pain my sacrifice feels, the better the offering!" Hidan's eyes contained a zealous gleam. It scared Sakura slightly. She never wanted to be on the receiving end if Hidan ever decided he wanted to use pink haired ninjas for his religion.

Sakura shifted from foot to foot as Hidan's eyes glazed over. A long, awkward moment began to brew.

"Well, as you have nothing else for me to do…..could you move so I can go to the kitchen?" Sakura asked.

"What? Oh yeah, what the fuck ever." Hidan turned around and sauntered back the way he had come. Sakura caught Kaylina's eye and both women released a breath they hadn't known they were holding.

* * *

><p>Becoming relaxed seemed to happen to Sakura whenever she was preparing food. Especially if that food was for someone else. She mused that she might be slightly domesticated. Kaylina occupied herself with setting the table for two while Sakura cooked. It was nice to see that the fridge was stocked along with the pantry. Nothing was more disheartening than an empty fridge to mock an empty stomach. Roughly halfway through their meal, the door at the opposite end of the kitchen swung open. In <em>bounced<em> a ninja with an orange, swirly lined mask. The masked ninja stopped in his tracks when he laid eyes upon Kaylina and Sakura.

"AHHHHHHHHH! Tobi found new people Tobi doesn't know! Someone help!" Tobi ran around in a tight circle around the kitchen island. Sakura looked over to Kaylina who mouthed 'what the fuck' back. No ninja should act like a child in the immediate presence of two people he didn't know. Two seconds later, Deidara slammed the kitchen door open.

"What is your problem Tobi, un?! Can't anyone have some peace and quiet without you screaming?" Deidara demanded.

"Tobi doesn't know these women! They're new! Tobi thinks they might be here to hurt the Akatsuki!" Tobi stabbed an accusing finger at Kaylina and Sakura. Both women were still sitting at the table staring at Tobi. Deidara saw Kaylina and Sakura trying to finish a meal.

Turning to regard Tobi with a scowl, Deidara spoke tartly, "Those are the new recruits that you were informed about you insufferable idiot. If you don't leave this kitchen _right now_, I will blow you through the roof un."

"Ohhhhhh! Tobi understands now! Tobi will be good boy! Hello Sakura and Kaylina-chan!" With that enthusiastic greeting, Tobi promptly skipped out of the kitchen.

Silence reigned.

"You can grab a plate if you want. We made plenty." Sakura offered to Deidara. He glanced back towards the various pots and pans. Since being in the Akatsuki, Deidara was forced to cultivate some amount of culinary skills. It was rather sad actually. For such a feared and lucrative organization, Pein refused to hire even one person to help with cooking or cleaning. It meant that most members often took care of basic chores for themselves with interesting results. Like the time that Hidan had been forced to clean up the living room after completing a ritual. Not only had Kakuzu screamed at him the entire night, but several fights resulting in dismemberment later, Hidan only managed to smear his blood over everything. Pein had been forced to buy new paint, several new pieces of furniture and every member had been forced to help remake the living room. To say nothing, Hidan was henceforth completely banned from practicing his religion in public areas. Cooking wasn't really any better for anyone else.

Grabbing a plate, Deidara helped himself to a serving of everything. His new found skills weren't stellular. Taking a bite of some chicken, Deidara smiled. It tasted just like his home town which made the meal something special. It had been quite some time since he had a home cooked meal. Once finished, Deidara looked between the two women. One pinkette and one blonde. Said blonde was quietly sipping some tea and Sakura was frowning into her plate.

Catching Deidara looking at her, Sakura raised an eyebrow. Deidara in turn raised the eyebrow that wasn't hidden by his bangs.

"So tell me about that Tobi guy who was just in here. Is he always like that?" Kaylina asked Deidara.

"Yeah, pretty much. I don't understand why Pein let him into the Akatsuki. Anyone who acts remotely stupid or irritating finds themselves being punished, un." Deidara's forehead scrunched slightly as he thought about Tobi. He knew that something wasn't right with the ninja, but the relationship between Tobi and Pein was just weird. If Deidara acted with half the stupidity that Tobi regularly displayed, Pein would torture him till he knew better. But Deidara wasn't one to really question what Pein did or why. If he wanted Tobi part of this organization, than Pein could deal with the damages to the organization's reputation.

While Deidara silently thought to himself, Kaylina and Sakura shared another look. Who the hell was Pein?

"Hey Deidara?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, un?"

"Who is Pein?"

"Pein? He's the leader. You met him when you initially asked to join un. He's the guy with orange hair and a ton of piercings."

"Oh." She said quietly. Sakura and Kaylina caught each other's eyes. Sakura raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'did you see that coming or was it just me?'. Deidara saw the exchange and smirked at both women.

"Other things that you might want to be aware of since you're new and all; Konan and Pein aren't together un. Like in a relationship together. But if either one of you thought that there might have been a chance, that's not happening un. As far as dating other members, it's not exactly "forbidden" (this statement was occupied with air quotes by Deidara), but Pein places huge emphasis on professionalism. So be careful un."

Sakura blinked a couple of times. She took for granted that personal conduct would have been the same as any team was back in Konoha, but she hadn't expected it to be laid out quite so eloquently. On top of that Pein was too scary. Way too scary. Kaylina was silently chuckling to herself. All these _kids_ were too young for her to even play with, let alone try and have a developed relationship. There was no way she was going to try that avenue.

"So now that Kaylina and I have been accepted into this organization, do we have a place to do our jobs or do we somehow have to make our own medical ward?" Sakura asked.

Deidara blinked a few times. He had no idea if this place had a ward at all, though he kind of suspected that it didn't since he always had to go see Kakuzu in his office to be patched up. Not really knowing, Deidara just shrugged his shoulders.

"That's it? You don't know? How the hell does anyone survive in this place if you don't even know where to go to get help?" Delivered with narrowed eyes, a slight frown, and a scrunched up forehead, Sakura was a little less than pleased. She wondered how Pein thought he could send out a limited number of S-class ninja on constant missions and have them continuously in working order. It was asking for a major disaster.

"I just go to Kakuzu when I need help un. He usually stitches people back together." Deidara stated defensively.

"So you haven't seen a room prepared to hold or take care of anyone since you've been here?" Kaylina piped up.

"No, un. Just the cells for holding enemy ninja. I would have told you if I knew."

A look passed again between Kaylina and Sakura. Deidara decided that women communicated through those looks. Having had an older sister and his mom, he knew what this newest one meant. Someone was going to get an ear full and possibly a few others were going to be put to work here very soon. He estimated that the time to leave was now, unless he wanted to be "recruited" to help build a medical ward.

"I would suggest asking Kisame or Itachi un. They would definitely know if something like a patient room was around. It's either those two or Zetsu or Kakuzu. I wouldn't approach Kakuzu though until you've talked to Pein since Kakuzu gets a little touchy when having to spend the organization's money. I think Zetsu will be able to supply you with most of the basic herbs and additives for your medicines. Good luck, I look forward to visiting you two rather than old ass un." Beating a hasty retreat, Deidara stood up to leave. He cleaned his dishes and left quietly. Deep in discussion, Kaylina and Sakura barely heard him leave.

After some time had passed with Kaylina and Sakura still in the kitchen, Kaylina decided that nothing could continue till the next day since it was late. The last few days of excitement, adventure, and stress seemed to be catching up. Funny how hot meals can do that. Dragging their butts, the leaf women returned to their individual rooms.

Closing the door, Sakura crossed the room and sank gratefully under the covers of the bed. Sleep rolled over her before her head touched the pillows.

* * *

><p>Waking a few hours later, Sakura noted that darkness had fallen. Even so, there was a feeling of activity in the base. She wondered if that feeling ever really faded with so many people living together and not quite so peacefully. Alert from her nap, the exploring that Sakura had meant to do earlier seemed like a good idea. Finding a room that would serve as a ward also seemed in order.<p>

Leaving her room quickly and silently, Sakura slipped down the hall. There weren't many rooms left on this hallway to explore. Starting with the room right next to hers', Sakura poked her head in. The door opened into a dark, abandoned room. Someone had thrown sheets over random pieces of furniture giving the room a ghostly appearance. As far as Sakura could tell, it was mainly used for storage and not much else. She stepped back out into the hallway, pulling the door shut. It was a wee bit too small to serve as a ward.

Moving towards the next door, Sakura again peeked. Surprisingly, she ended up staring at a collection of bookcases. They were packed and crammed full. She never thought the Akatsuki would keep records, scrolls, and books. With a boding sense, it appeared the organization ran like any other village. A library simply didn't sit with the image of a terrifying, murderous organization. It spoke of planning, permanence, and lasting business. Trying not to read too much into the fact of a library at the base, Sakura instead opted to view the various pieces of knowledge apparently stashed away.

Scanning the shelves, she noted that many different jutsus, techniques, and pieces of research were crammed next to each other in no particular order. Either no one cared to cataloge (which was most likely the case) or people used these items frequently. Sakura hesitated. Since she was now a member, could she grab a few scrolls to "study" or did she have to ask someone for permission? She was infinitely curious about the subjects the Akatsuki members would find valuable enough to store themselves. She also hoped that maybe somewhere in this room, there would be techniques and jutsus waiting to reveal secrets and abilities of individual members. Wouldn't that be a treasure? The chances seemed slim though.

She wandered around for a little bit more, attempting to make out some kind of pattern for later reference, but none was in place. She would have to go through shelf by shelf it seemed.

'Why am I not surprised, inner, at the pigginess of this room?'

'_Meh, give them some credit. At least they can read. That's more than you can say for some guys.'_

'Yeah, good point. I wonder if just one or two people collected these things or if every member has contributed? I also wonder if they were stolen too.'

'_I have no idea, but I would wait to grab a few. Yeah you're a member, but not a trusted one. If there is important information located in here, I doubt you're going to be allowed to view it for some time.'_

'Hmmm, true.'

'_Keep exploring. We may find more interesting things…..like other members.'_

'Perv.'

'_You know it!'_

Sakura reluctantly left the room, closing the door behind her. Having come to the end of the hallway, she turned to go down the stairs. Descending into another hallway, the first difference was that there weren't as many doors down here as had been above. She gave credit to Pein since the basement was finished and well lit. She half expected it to be dark and dank. A criminal society had images to maintain after all.

Sakura turned toward the first door and stepped in.

Seated behind an imposing desk, Kakuzu had a pencil poised to write with and one eyebrow raised. Had she known he was here, she would have avoided the room at all costs. A brief sweep of her eyes revealed that this room served as a sparse office. Nothing more.

Kakuzu was amazed. No one who knew (or had just met him) would dare intrude upon him when he was trying to balance accounts. Yet here was the same annoying kunochi. A small smile tugged his lips upwards. He put the pencil down and folded his hands on his desk. Sakura tried hard not to fidget. As silence began to stretch between them, the man's stillness began to unnerve her. She knew in her gut that she shouldn't be here. Silence expanded.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I was just looking around and I'm sorry to disturb you." Sakura spoke in a rush. She wanted back out into the hall.

"Ah, so you just decided to enter rooms regardless whether someone was in them or not?" Kakuzu sneered at Sakura. He thought this woman had intelligence, but this wasn't the smartest way he could think about going exploring. On the other hand, she had an endearing quality when she tried hard not to fidget.

"You know, that is exactly the attitude I had when I came down here. Kami knows that running into you has been a pleasurable experience since you're a personable guy and all." Sakura was glaring and delivered the statement with maximum sarcasm.

Kakuzu's eyes narrowed. "Don't sass me. You didn't bother to knock or at least yell through the door like Hidan does. Get out. I'm busy and don't come in here again unless you have a point."

Sakura couldn't help it; she tried not to. She stuck her tongue out, turned on her heel and _slammed_ the door shut. Kakuzu sat at his desk fuming slightly. If she broke a door behaving like a child, she would pay for it come hell or high water. The others were bad enough constantly destroying furniture, walls, and other expensive items around the base. He didn't need a snotty girl adding to it. Still though, when had he crossed someone bold enough to stick their tongue out at him?

Outside in the hall, Sakura stood tensely waiting for some form of retaliation. When none came, she moved as quietly as possible away from the door, making mental notes about where it was and to avoid it in the future. The mental notes were stacking.

Continuing to walk down the hall, Sakura came across the laundry room. 3 washers and 3 dryers stood facing each other. Sakura noticed that they were decent quality and looked well serviced. Wondering who the neat freak was, she exited. Continuing to walk down the hallway, Sakura thought about some of the dynamics within the organization. Not everyone got alone with each other and she began to wonder if trying to be friendly with everyone was a bad strategy. She hated click groups back in her academy days and couldn't find enough tolerance for them now. What if she attempted to cultivate individual relationships with the characteristic of the relationship not being based on the Akatsuki organization? That way, she might be able to justify being around members who didn't necessarily agree with her being friends with others they didn't like. She could quell arguments with the ideas of friendship and respect not based solely on abilities or experience; based mainly on the person underneath the ninja exterior. She supposed that this might work.

Sakura stopped suddenly. Coming across an open door way, she found the perfect room for a medical ward. Completely spacious, unoccupied, well lit, various cabinets located around the room, and clean. It was half the battle already won. A quick duck of her head showed no other doors to further explore.

* * *

><p>The next day was spent in a blur. Having shared with Kaylina her discovery the night before, Sakura had woken up early to approach Pein with a rough proposal. He had been extremely receptive and had given his permission. Kakuzu hadn't been as gracious. When informed about the minimum budget, Kakuzu had gotten loud, angry, and defiant. His idea was somewhat old fashioned in that, a Band-Aid, some ice, some whiskey, and steel nerves served the best shinobi quite well, thank you very much. Just because there were "new" and "razzle-dazzle" methods now-a-days didn't mean they worked better or were required. Not at the price these "foolish" women were citing.<p>

Yeah, it had gone over like a lead balloon. However, a direct order from Pein had silenced the fuming money tycoon. Thus the morning's project began. With Kaylina darting back and forth between the base to place orders, pick up supplies, establish accounts, and all that jazz, Sakura had stayed behind to set the room up.

Surprisingly, Zetsu had turned out to help. Having not met the plant man yet, Sakura was startled (just a tiny bit), when he had merged out of the wall besides her. The resulting shriek was quickly blamed on some object that Sakura mumbled about. Tsunade would be so proud. Taking stock of the man before her, Sakura was deeply intrigued into his appearance. The bicoloring of his skin, the dual personalities, the razor sharp teeth (akin to Kisame's), and the plant like shield that encircled his head. Rumors held that Zetsu practiced cannibalism, but she wondered if that was really a fair statement. When an appearance was clearly a merging of plant and human DNA, did the man constitute human? It might be not so much cannibalism as it was food-chain hierarchy. Either way, Sakura wasn't really concerned about it, as she felt he was more human and would therefore be regarded as such just to make things simple.

Zetsu looked down on the little kuniochi. One side was insisting on getting a "taste" of her while the other was more for a 'look, don't touch' approach. Thankfully, Sakura interrupted his internal debate.

"You must be Zetsu. I've been told that you can help supply this ward with some great medicines. You're apparently an excellent gardener and have some rare specimens available." Sakura stated.

"Yes, we maintain a garden a fair distance from the base. **I would suggest not going in there unless we're present.**"

Noting that two different voices were speaking, Sakura instantly started to make notes about the personalities. She was really looking for differences that might help her to understand the man. She got the distinct impression that the two personalities didn't always agree meaning she had to be careful with what she said and did. It was like having two people constantly together. What might please one could upset the other.

"How would you like to arrange this? I understand that certain plants take time to grow, but it would be nice to have needed ingredients on hand the instant they're required. It's been in my experience that some great medicine has gone to waste for the simple reason of "stocking" it rather than just making it."

"I can't agree more. **Waste not, want not.** I have a special technique that preserves the more rare specimens in such a state that considerably slows down the rate of decay. **I can't promise everything you might need every time, but it would have to be an extraordinary circumstance for me to be without something to use at least as an alternative.**"

Sakura smiled. She really liked this guy. There wasn't any quibbling about price, time, management, clearance, or use. It was 'here you go, do your job and I'll do mine' which was rarely seen back at the hospital. It also said that he had faith in her as medic, whether he realized it or not. By just working with her, not questioning, he was assuming she could do her job without supervising and wouldn't be wasting ingredients via incompetence.

"Great. Can we setup some sort of supply or request sheet for you or would you like us to let you know as things become needed?"

"Hmmm, let's set up a supply sheet for the more basic requirements, but also don't hesitate to come find me if you need something specific. **Just don't enter the garden on your own**. There are many poisonous plants I guarantee you'll step on before you've realized you've had an accident."

As the day wore on, Sakura and Zetsu worked to arrange the med ward into a state of functionality. Some items would be arriving over the next few days such as cots and a few refrigerators, but most everything else had been set up. As they worked, they talked and questioned each other. Despite the fact that Zetsu had two personalities, Sakura found that she really enjoyed him. Because the personalities often didn't agree, she found herself laughing when they would argue. The white side was dubbed Shiro while the black side went by Neo. Neo was harsh spoken, blunt, but also insightful. Shiro was quiet, soft spoken, but sensitive. Together it made Zetsu, as a whole, a mindful individual who had the ability to see things for what they were, not what people wanted to believe. It was extremely refreshing to talk to someone who was so cleared sited.

Once the room was completed as far as it could be, Sakura decided to call it a day. Zetsu had already left an hour ago to report to Pein. Surveying her new domain, she was pleased. A moment of pride filled her as she realized that Tsunade's training was again showing its benefit. Not many people could put together an entire unit to care for others in less than a day. Granted Kaylina was also a great medic by buying the right supplies, but still, just between the two of them meant it was an impressive feat. What was better was the fact that the room was arranged just the way that Kaylina and herself liked it. Not a standard, prepared room, but a genuine custom order.

Flipping the lights off, Sakura headed back upstairs. Kaylina had already returned for the day explaining that working with some of the local merchants was a right pain in the ass.

Sensing that Kaylina's chakra signature was in the kitchen, Sakura walked in. Seated around the tables were Kaylina, Deidara, Kisame, and Zetsu. Someone had made dinner. Kisame caught Sakura's eyes and tipped his head towards the food. Taking the cue, Sakura grabbed a plate and some food. Sitting beside Kisame, Sakura listened to the conversation.

"I just don't understand why it's so difficult for people to get the hint not to argue with medics. For Kami's sake, I had a guy ask me why I needed so many cots today. I told him because I planned on kicking his ass and anyone else stupid enough to ask dumb questions. I got the finger in return." Kaylina was saying.

"Well, the local guys probably don't know you yet, and they don't know you're now a part of the Akatsuki. Why didn't you take an older member with you? It would have solved quite a few problems." Kisame asked.

"I don't know. I'm not used to having "muscle" back me up. Apparently I'm spoiled with people who listen to logic and reason." Kaylina rolled her eyes.

"Did you bother to wear you're cloak un?" Deidara inquired.

"No, it's hot as hell outside. Why on Earth would I wear a black, huge, heavy cloak into town for?" Kaylina asked.

"People usually respond a lot better when they see the uniform. ** They aren't willing to give lip as much**. Next time, wear the cloak and things will go a lot smoother for you." Zetsu explained.

By this time, Sakura had neatly finished her dinner. She kind of felt bad for Kaylina as it sounded like her day was mostly filled with people giving her headaches. At least Sakura had pleasurable company with Zetsu.

"So now that we have most of everything completed with the ward, what do you guys normally do when you're here and waiting for a mission?" Sakura asked.

Deidara and Kisame thought for a moment. Mostly they either trained or lounged around. It wasn't everyday (or week) that "free" time came around; therefore, it was spent however an individual chose to spend it. Some people watched TV, some read books, Hidan usually found an extra sacrifice, Sasori occasionally would try out a new poison, stuff like that.

"I suppose I just spend my time on my art, un. It's that or sometimes we get a group going and head out to the bar." Deidara scratched his head as he thought.

"Speaking of time and idleness, you Ms. Pinky owe me a sparring match. Remember when you bet me that you would win? Since there aren't upcoming missions from Pein, tomorrow is just as good as any to see what they taught you in Leaf." Kisame wiggled his eyebrows back and forth.

Sakura sent a bemused glance towards the shark man. Yes, she had engaged in a bet with him and it was a great opportunity to see what the Mist nin could do up close. Besides, regardless of winning or losing it would give her excuse to spend more time around him.

"Yeah, you're on Fins." Sakura grinned with excitement.

"Meet me back here in the kitchen bright and early tomorrow morning."

* * *

><p>Laying back against her pillows, her legs crossed, with one of her favorite medical books (Kaylina had kindly picked up a small selection for her), Sakura was thinking back on the day's events. A loud knock almost made her drop the glass of water she was drinking from. Unable to sense a chakra signature, Sakura tensed slightly and grabbed a kunai from under her mattress.<p>

"Come in."

The child like ninja, Tobi, bounced in to her room. He closed the door quietly behind him. Sakura got the sense that something was off about this person. It was coming somewhere between the annoying childlike display and locking the door when he walked in. Sakura didn't put the blade down.

Tobi stood just by the door, gazing at Sakura. With his mask covering everything, she couldn't read him. It wasn't the same like Kakuzu where you could see his eyes and the emotions in them. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck start to rise. Something didn't feel right. Deciding to break the silence (and get this freak the hell out of her room quickly), Sakura spoke.

"Can I help you Tobi?"

A dark chuckle sounded that was very un-Tobi like.

'Oh shit inner, here we go. The true nutcase in this place comes forward.'

'_Don't panic and try to get him out as quickly as possible.'_

'What? No perverted quip? No mental drooling? Are you okay?'

'_Just because I'm horny doesn't mean that I'm going to let you sleep with some slime ball who acts like a child. He's creepy, let's move along.'_

'Roger that, double creepy.'

Sakura spoke out loud, "Tobi?"

No response. Leaning against the door, he continued to stare at Sakura. She started to calculate what it would take to alert Kaylina that something was terribly wrong and she needed immediate help. The situation began to anger Sakura, but fear was fueling it. In the pit of her stomach she didn't want to engage. She didn't want to touch him, let alone have him touch her. Deciding to gently kick him out of her room seemed the best idea.

"Well Tobi, if you don't have a point for being in here, I'm going to ask you to leave. In fact, I'm asking that you_ only_ come back when you absolutely have something to say, okay?" Sakura's stomach had butterflies beating kettle drums. Her heart hammered wildly against her ribs and her palms became sweaty. Desperately she wished that he would just leave without making a scene.

By the grace of the fates, Tobi slinked out the door. The soft click of the latch became the signal for Sakura to release a breath she held. That man was not right. She was determined to avoid him at all costs for the remainder of her mission.

Sakura waited roughly 30 minutes before flaring her chakra in a wide, substantial arc. When nothing registered (not a signal, not a bloodstream, not a breath) did Sakura gather her courage and make her way towards the door. Steeling her nerves, she pulled open the door, looked up and down the hallway and sprinted into Kaylina's room.

* * *

><p>Early the next morning (dawn doing it's same old same old), Sakura was in the kitchen sipping a cup of coffee. Apparently bright and early did NOT mean 6 am promptly. She desperately hoped it wasn't Kakashi's version, which would mean whenever you got around to it. She also didn't want to ruin the mood thinking back on Tobi or the tiny message finally sent to Tsunade. The sun was just pushing its golden rays through the dawn's mist. Small, wispy clouds floated in the sky and the grass was adorned with small dew beads that sparkled. It was times like this that Sakura treasured. The silence, the peace. In a shinobi's world, these luxuries were often in short supply and not easily afforded.<p>

_SLAMMM!_ The door was thrown into the back of the kitchen wall.

See? Treasure the moments, they don't last long. Swaggering in was none but the missing shark nin. Propping Samehada next to his seat, Kisame poured himself a small cup of coffee. Sakura gave him a warm smile, despite having tranquility broken.

"Good morning, Kisame-san."

"Good morning, Sakura-chan."

A friendly silence ensued while Kisame grabbed an apple. A bite followed by crunching noises sounded and Sakura finished her coffee. Placing their dishes in the sink, Kisame started for the living room. Walking out the front door, the duo made their way towards the rear of the building. Sakura was surprised to see a fairly large patio with a grill, a glass-topped, out-door table, and wire wrought chairs with plain black cushions. A carefully well-tended lawn spread out from the patio into a dense forest area. It was towards the forest that Kisame led Sakura only allowing her a few minutes to observe the strangely domestic scene. Well-worn was the path they took and a gentle slope gave way to a large meadow.

This meadow had seen better days. Parts were burned while others were devoid of life. At odd angles the forest was cut back sharply like an insane giant barber had gotten angry and attempted to scalp the earth. Still, most of the forest stood with its' trees, shrubs, and various plant life.

The bowl of the meadow was the stage to begin a fight it appeared. Kisame had left his cloak hanging on a branch just before the path gave way to the meadow. Sakura spaced herself appropriately tugging her black gloves on while Kisame brought Samehada around front.

For the first five seconds, they were evenly matched. Sakura was smaller, light weight, and didn't have a large weapon to contend with. The downside was that her chakra reserves weren't large and Kisame had large everything!

After back-flipping rapidly left and right to avoid the sword, she released two shadow clones. She pushed one clone into the ground while the other was launched above Kisame's head to land on the other side. Kaylina had told her what she had attempted to do with Kakuzu and Sakura surmised that since both men were large and aggressive with massive chakra reserves, this might actually work especially with Kisame since he didn't have threads to shove underground. Attacking from two sides at once also seemed to create a better chance to find a hole or opportunity to turn the tables in her favor. She recalled Guy-sensei's report and inwardly knew close combat wasn't a good idea. The problem was that she was a close range fighter.

Kisame's hands flew through some seals. A water clone rose behind him to deal with Sakura's clone effectively leveling the playing field again. Sakura leapt forward in a barrage of fist and feet, desperately trying to knock him off balance and kick the sword out of his grasp. That damn thing was a menace! Rapidly switching between chakra scalpels and earth-shattering, Sakura barely kept up with Kisame. The condescending prick was not only holding back, but giving Sakura a patronizing smirk such as a parent gives a small child for attempting a project well beyond their skill level. Growling, she hid a spot chakra underneath one of her scalpels. Bringing her hand around as if to slice, she reversed directions and dragged her palm down his bicep. The spot she had hidden sparked on contact and Kisame felt his arm go dead.

"Well I'll be switched kunoichi," he chuckled. "That's a handy trick. Get it? Handy? I made a pun."

That self-satisfied grin still hadn't left his face! Sakura just didn't understand; had it been her, she would have been angry and concerned. But maybe that's why these guys were effective. They didn't let things bother them or show the enemy that they really cared what happened. In a way, it could really fuck with someone's mind. To deal a blow, but not have the enemy acknowledge or show it. Internally Sakura began to grasp this. It was making Kisame look worse, more deadly than he already was. Not having both his arms didn't unnerve him and that was unnerving her.

Shaking her head, she backed up a few more steps to gain distance and time. He promptly closed the gaps by matching her step for step. It was time for the clone underground to do her job. Sakura continued to walk backwards, but now angled herself to walk in a semi-circle. She didn't dare make the clone move lest Kisame sense it with his inhuman abilities.

'Just keep following me. That's it, don't flash away, don't run at me. Just walk.'

'_I would suggest throwing something at him. Just so that it lands in front of his feet almost like you want him to back off. I think he likes the slightly panicked look on your face.'_

'I do NOT have a panicked look on my face!'

'_Nothing ever good comes from lying to yourself sweetheart. Besides, I can feel your cheek muscle twitching.'_

'Fuck off.'

Taking her inner's advice, Sakura flicked two kunai into the ground at Kisame's feet. He glanced at them and then at Sakura, rising that customary eyebrow. By now, she had him standing over her clone. Two pale, small hands punched upwards from the ground wrapping their fingers around Kisame's ankles. A sharp tug later enhanced with chakra sank him up to his shoulders.

"Take that!" Sakura fist pumped into the air.

Kisame promptly turned into a puddle of water leaving the woman to gape openly. A small poof behind and Sakura felt herself flying across the bowl. The most irate thought in her head was that she had been back-handed. Back-handed. Not punched, not kicked. It equated to swatting a fly and she certainly didn't want to be a fly.

The impact felt worse than the hit, but that's what happens when you leave a 10 foot plus long trench in the ground. She leveled herself up, glaring at where Kisame stood. She wanted this fight to end quickly, not only to save her dignity, but to keep her head on her shoulders where she liked it. What could she do? It was like fighting Kakashi when she was fresh out of the academy. It had crossed over from mocking and bordered humiliating.

Maybe lightening? She knew a couple of jutsus that made water an undesirable property, but would it be enough? On top of that, there wasn't a lot of water around her to enhance the range of a bolt, unless she could trick Kisame into making a larger puddle. How to trick though? Start with fire? Most shinobi stuck with one or two elements based on whatever affinities they had strongest. However, she had excellent chakra control lending her the ability to learn various kinds regardless of her personal predispositions. Hopefully she could also dupe him into thinking she only knew earth and fire, saving lightening for an extra surprise.

Quickly working some hand signs, she inhaled deeply. Blowing out in rapid, tiny breaths, small balls of fire spun wildly toward Kisame who dodged easily. She executed a different set of hand signs breathing a ribbon of fire that she grasped at either end. She personally loved this technique as it allowed her to dance. There had been one time on a mission with the boys when she had revealed the ribbon and had burnt through half the enemies' numbers before people (including her own team) had quit staring and gotten back to the task of fighting. Now, she used it as a distraction. Twirling, dipping, pirouettes, and grace came together to move Sakura from where she was standing closer to Kisame.

Rippling. That was his first impression. The ribbon of fire wasn't thick or particularly long, but it had just enough length to cause ripples down itself. The tiny flames on the edges licked upwards giving off heat which made woman's body look like it was rippling too. A great, beautiful show to be sure, but he would be putting it out. Fire didn't bother him so much as it annoyed him. Water usually conquered fire unless it had been going for some time and consumed too much fuel. Many people had tried to burn him in various ways only to discover that his thick skin resisted to a great degree. Drawing some chakra to his mouth, Kisame prepared a small, tight jet of water to hose Sakura down. His eyes took in every turn of her form and he watched for a few more seconds just to enjoy the harmonious picture. She was closing the distance. Just when she was a few feet away, he propelled the water down the length of the ribbon. To his great astonishment, the ribbon wasn't quenched. In fact, the water fell from the ribbon like it would slide of a cloak coated with repellent. Sakura gave a small laugh.

"My fire is coated with a bare hint of my chakra. That means that water or anything else will be kept separate from it."

Ah, Kisame thought to himself. To disrupt the ribbon, he had to disrupt her, which meant somehow getting close and personal. Backing away, a water clone could test the ribbon out and see how hot hot was. A second later (with a tad bit of extra concentration considering his one arm was still dead), and two Kisames stood side by side. The fake one darted forward and was promptly turned to steam thanks to the ribbon. So hot meant really hot. Kisame gripped Samehada and darted forwarded. Raising the sword, he jumped over Sakura's head bringing the very tip of the blade to graze the barrier of chakra on the ribbon. The sword sucked the chakra in giving Kisame a split second to release another jet of water from his mouth. This one hit the ribbon square in the center releasing enough hot steam to rival a bath house. Sakura shrieked with surprise and anger. Still, she had to admit that her plan was working. The field was now covered in water. One more attempt with fire and she would switch to lightening. This time she wanted to get him wet.

"Was that it? You acted more like a garden hose than a water ninja! I've fought men half your size who spat out bigger streams!"

"Pipe down woman, if you want a lake, just ask politely. Yikes, you sure do need to work on your people skills!"

Sakura's eyes went wide. A lake? He couldn't be serious, could he? She didn't want to be trapped in his main element, certainly not in or on a man-made lake. He didn't have enough water around him to pull that kind of resource together, there was no way. But he was proving her wrong. Without hand signs, he had begun to swell slightly. His chest was inhaled as wide as it could go and his cheeks were puffed out like he had stuffed them.

Without warning, water came forth like a dam breaking. Oh puke, he was effectively vomiting up a lake. His chakra reserves were helping to hold the water in a wide, tall column so as not to spread all over the meadow.

Sakura quickly pushed chakra to her feet stay on top, but she knew she was screwed (and slightly grossed out if she would admit it). She certainly didn't want to try lightning now that she was on the very same water. She would fry the both of them and that never left a clear victor. She was simply out of ideas. He was too fast, too good at combat, had too much chakra, and too much stamina for her.

Kisame watched as Sakura stood there thinking. Her eyes had glazed over slightly and he knew the look on her face. She understood she was done for. Sometimes people surrendered; sometimes they never got this look and fought till they died. He wondered what she would do. His money was on the idea that she would fight to till the end, but you never really knew. Dropping underneath the surface, he swam till he was under her. From a slightly male perspective, he was dejected to find that she was wearing black shorts under her black skirt. One could always hope. He grabbed her ankle and yanked her under with him.

Shockingly, she didn't fight him. No squirming, no punches at his head, no thrashing. Just staring and a slight blush creeping up her neck. She knew she had lost, knew when to accept defeat. He added another point to her intelligence. Since he had driven them down, she hung limply in the water. His grip slackened because there wasn't a need to hold her tightly. Her hair floated around her in a wide spread fan while small bubbled floated upwards. They were at a point were buoyancy and weight leveled out to leave them in a suspended state.

Sakura looked to Kisame. She wasn't pleading, but she really didn't expect him to kill her. He had had numerous opportunities to do so while sparring and even now he could choke her out, but he was just contemplating her. His stare was intense. Something between the lack of blinking, the smaller than normal black pupils, the whole shark appearance or maybe it was the calculating, appreciative gleam.

At this moment, Sakura's lungs informed her that they were running out of air. Not quite to the point where they were straining, but it was notice enough that she should consider air intake soon. Looking up at the light filtering into the top of lake, Sakura started to move upwards. Kisame pulled her back down. She glared at him, letting him know she didn't find it funny. He grinned back, feigning innocence. She pointed to her chest and then upwards, indicating she had to surface soon. He tilted his head, as if confused. She rolled her eyes and pointed upwards again. He pointed to his own chest and then hers as if asking some comparative question. She yanked at her hand which he still held in his grasp. He refused to let go. Now her lungs were insisting urgently that they needed air. Sakura looked at Kisame. She got the sense that he would keep her down here till she passed out just to see how long it would take. Looking towards the surface again, she closed her eyes. If she could have taken a breath, she would have. Opening them again, she gave the most pleading face she could possibly make. Kisame threw back his head and laughed, as much as someone can laugh under water. He drew her closer and pushed for the surface. With Sakura squished next to his chest, she could feel the muscles that were more like slabs of impossibly tough meat.

Breaking the surface, she gulped down delicious air. Kisame lazy swam on his back in circles around her.

"Care for a swim?" he asked her.

"No thanks, I find that since you puked this lake into existence I have an extensive appointment with the shower and soap." Sakura snipped back.

"Excuse me, but this water is clean and fresh. I don't "puke" things up." Kisame replied. He loved getting this woman riled up. She bantered with him when most everyone else couldn't get past his appearance. On a completely different note, he realized that Sakura had unblocked his arm.

"Whatever. Let your barrier go so we can go. I believe I owe you breakfast as it's only like 8 or 9 in the morning." Sakura said while squinting at the sun.

Kisame chuckled and let the barrier go. It was like a really big, really fast slide. Whooosh! All the way down until Sakura was halted by the friction of mud. Now she was soaked and muddy, lovely. A shower was definitely in order.

Standing up, Sakura desperately tried to wipe some of the mud off her. She only succeeded in making large smears that ran in crazy directions. She heard a stifled laugh behind her and turned to find Kisame desperately not wanting to let out his opinion of what he really thought.

The only warning he got was a smirk crossing those pretty lips.

He was hit squarely in the chest with a handful of fresh mud which Sakura had gleaned from her chest no less. She had watched as Kisame's eyes were glued to what she had been doing before throwing the brown glob. Now she watched as his eyes narrowed dangerously. He took one large step forward, snatched her up and threw her over his shoulder before kneeling into the mud itself. Despite her flailing limbs and squealing peals of laughter, he managed to pin her into the mud and graciously heap more of the compound on to her whilst tickling her to death.

Sakura finely managed to flip their positions such that she was straddled against his stomach and using her chakra enhanced strength to hold his arms down at his sides. Unfortunately for Kisame, he wasn't the only one who could concentrate hard enough to complete a jutsu with no hands. A clone of Sakura popped into existence beside them. Watching two versions of the same woman smile with mischievous intent was more than one man could handle. Having a slightly more animalistic part to him didn't help either. As the clone began to paste mud under his shirt, he found himself with goose bumps forming on his arms. The mud wasn't as cold as it was a second ago and Kisame noted that it had something to do with Sakura.

"Didn't know you were a pervert there Pinky. Pinning a man down to molest him, tut-tut."

"This isn't molesting; it's simple payback. Besides, if I wanted to molest you, I wouldn't do it with something as unsexy as _mud_. Please, I have better skills than that." The clone had finished packing his shirt so now it moved to get some underneath his socks and up his pant legs.

"Really? You'll have to show me some time as I don't believe you." His eyes had closed and his faced had assumed an uninterested, disbelieving look.

"Good luck fish-sticks. I'm not that easy and you have to come up with better pickup lines than that." Sakura giggled. This guy was so much fun!

Suddenly, Kisame flipped their positions again using Sakura's strength as a counter-weight. She was pinned under a 6 foot plus guy with a fish problem. Using his thighs, Kisame trapped Sakura's arms to her sides and then took his shirt off. All of the mud that had been packed underneath fell out. On to Sakura. Whatever was still clinging was flicked downward and most of it had piled onto her stomach.

Despite being grossed out, Sakura laughed out loud. She had never wrestled someone in the mud though it had been suggested between her and Ino before by some of the guys back home. Kisame joined in with his deeper rumbles resonating through her core. She looked at him slightly abashed for behaving like such a child.

Kisame jumped off to help her up and they made their way back to the base occasionally jostling each other, trying to trip the other, or throwing tiny balls of mud.

* * *

><p>Okay, this chapter was long, but I figured I owed to such a wonderful audience who puts up with such long intermissions. I can't (and will not) guarantee that the next one (intermission or chapter) will be as long or short. As my teacher tells me, works of fiction are created, not planned.<p>

The secret, awesome wind jutsu that Sakura and Kaylina use actually comes from 17child-of-the-moon17 who may have also supplied the plot. A huge thank you for your support and continued encouragement! Both have been hugely demanded!

As always if you catch bullshit, please let me know so I may clean it up. Lord knows my ideas and writing sometimes look like a herd of elephants stomped all over it.


	7. Chapter 7

Next chapter! Woot-woot!

* * *

><p>Once Kisame and Sakura returned to the base, they separated for their own showers. As she lathered up, Sakura mused over her battle with Kisame. She concluded that she didn't feel as disappointed with her defeat as she originally thought, but she would definitely need to consider some training if she was to keep up with him or anyone else in this organization for that matter. A part of her was secretly delighted by this idea because she knew that if she survived the training and the mission, her skills would only be matched by other S-class criminal and some very prominent shinobi. She wondered idly if Itachi had started out like this, then dismissed the thought. Itachi? Not know how to kick anyone's ass? Please.<p>

Feeling cleaner, Sakura whipped a towel around herself and hurried to get dressed. It was still early and she was hoping to have first dibs on the kitchen. She owed Kisame a breakfast after all.

A desolate kitchen awaited her. Deciding that a simple breakfast was in order, she piled ingredients on the counter while various pots and pans were gathered on the stove. While cooking, Sakura decided it was high time to have a look at the members' medial files. She was excited to finish the ward and she wanted to meet with Pein about acquiring those files as soon as possible. In her mind, it was an excellent opportunity to obtain never before seen information on these deadly criminals.

'_You assume they keep files like that around sweetcheeks.'_

'They HAVE to have files like that. Otherwise, no one knows what any particular member's health history is. You and I both know that history is crucial for any ninja to maintain and update.'

'_Normally I would agree. Beyond that, health files are like porn to me anyways. That being said, I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. I don't think that hunkalious Pein cares about past health issues and I doubt any member here wants something that personal known.'_

'You know, I used to read those files to make sure nothing was left out, but if you use them for porn I just might start to lightly skim through them.'

'_You wouldn't dare!'_

'I totally would.'

'_Damn you! Fine, fine. I will behave myself __if__ you can find those files.'_

'Deal.'

As her internal debate raged (and various foods cooked), Kisame reappeared from his own shower. He leaned over Sakura (deliberately) to see what was cooking and made a dramatic show of inhaling and licking his lips. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Everything is ready so you can grab a plate and help yourself Sharkie."

"Hmmm, Sharkie, I like it. By the way, I must congratulate you."

A slim eyebrow was raised, "On what?"

"Your cooking doesn't look like someone threw up in the pan. That's a nice change for me."

"Blechh, that's gross. Who cooks so awful that it looks like vomit?"

There was a pause in which Kisame stood still for a second.

"I do. And everyone else besides you, Kaylina, and Itachi."

"Such blatant appraisal coming from you. You haven't even tried it yet."

"Yeah, but blondie was bragging about having a decent home cooked meal from you ladies the other day and how much the rest of our cooking sucked in comparison. Now, that being said, if this is poisoned or only looks good, you might be revisiting that lake I made earlier." He bared a row of sharp teeth in a grin.

"Keep your panties on." As she spoke, Sakura grabbed a plate, filled it, and sat down next to Kisame. For a while, the only sounds in the kitchen were the tinkling of silverware on plates and glasses of O.J. clinking against the table.

But, as with all silence and peace, someone shattered the quiet.

"I can't fucking believe this place! God damn heathens!"

Hidan. Sakura set her fork down, listening to the Jashinist while Kisame heaved a long suffering sigh. He looked heaven ward in a pleading manner.

Hidan stormed in crashing the door against the wall and tried to slam it shut. Since it was a swinging door he almost smacked himself back in the face, but being the shinobi he was, he deftly caught the door on the return. It did nothing to soothe his temper judging by how his scowl increased.

"Fucking stupid door. Who the fuck thought a swinging door was a good idea?"

Sakura and Kisame sat quietly, watching Hidan.

"What the fuck you two looking at?"

"You, actually since you're making such a spectacle of yourself. Who shoved a kunai up your ass this morning?" Kisame asked.

"Fucking Leader-pain-in-my-ass. He's sending Kakuzu and I out after we just got back. On top of that, Kakuzu was in _such_ a lovely mood when I went to tell him. He's super pissed off about the new med ward and he loves to share his _feelings_ with me."

Sakura hummed non-committedly to this explanation. She wondered if she should apologize to Kakuzu for causing such trouble and stress to him. Then she pushed the thought aside. The guy was an asshole.

"Hey Hidan, why don't you grab a plate and some breakfast? I just made it and there's plenty to go around. It might make you feel better especially if you have a mission." Sakura gestured to the stove. She hoped against hope that he would take some, if only to keep him quiet for a few minutes.

Hidan glared at her and then looked in to some of the pots and pans. After a few tentative sniffs, he seized a plate and piled it with food. Despite the abrupt mannerisms, he didn't actually shovel food into his mouth like Sakura was half expecting. She scolded herself after the thought for being mean.

After a few minutes of Hidan getting settled, Kisame and Sakura returned to their own breakfasts.

"Doesn't taste half bad pinkie."

"Thank you, glad you like it."

The three settled again into a somewhat quiet state. As soon as she finished, Sakura ran through the dishes quickly, placing left overs in the fridge.

When she had left, Kisame and Hidan looked at each other.

"Not half bad for a newbie." Hidan stated.

"Not half bad in what way?" Kisame half hoped Hidan wouldn't start in on how good Sakura looked or smelled or what he specifically wanted to do with her, if anything besides sacrificing.

"She can cook, isn't intimidated by any of us except Leader, and doesn't pick fights with people like you or me. Might actually be nice to have her around this psycho place."

"Wow Hidan, I'm shocked. Usually you freak out and start trying to kill new members. The last time I saw you this accepting was when Deidara showed up."

"Deidara isn't a bad kid. He has dedication to his art which I can respect, plus he's a pretty mellow guy compared to some people like Sasori. Besides, I don't "freak out" on people. I either tolerate you or I hate your fucking guts and prefer to see you as a sacrifice."

"So you like Sakura then?"

"Don't go letting your fucking fish lips run away on you. I just said that she was a change of pace. I don't like her any more than I like you."

"Such love, fuck you too Hidan." Even though the words were harsh, the grin that spread over Kisame's face was merely annoyed at Hidan's description. Hidan really didn't bother him so long as he wasn't looking to pick a fight.

On the other hand, Hidan wished fervently he had the same ability to lie like Itachi or the stoic face that Leader possessed. In trying to feel out Kisame, he had almost made a mistake and relieved his own hand. Sometimes talking to Kisame turned into a mind fuck. It was vaguely disturbing.

And it wasn't as if Hidan _liked_ Sakura. He found her to be some-what annoying and he didn't think pink anything was attractive on anybody. No, he was more intrigued by her. She had almost beaten him during their fight which had sparked his interest and she had looked good doing it, but actually liking her? He still didn't trust her and he knew next to nothing about her besides what was already common knowledge.

The men finished their breakfasts in silence and departed on their own business soon afterwards.

* * *

><p>In the time that Hidan and Kisame were having their heart-to-heart, Sakura had begun to fidget outside Pein's office. She had knocked only to have Konan poke her head out and ask why Sakura was standing there. Since then, she had stood waiting. The walls and ceilings only provided so much entertainment.<p>

Soon the door was open and two people filed out. Lo upon Sakura! Sasori stepped out followed closely by Deidara. Upon seeing Sakura waiting outside the office, Sasori and Deidara stopped. Sakura squared her shoulders.

"We have a mission brat and you are to come with us. Be ready to leave within the next two hours." Sasori stated with a glare.

Sakura placed a hand on her hip and gave him a lazy salute accentuated with a shit-eating grin.

"Of course your majesty, as soon as I'm done talking to Leader, I will drop everything for you." With that flippant remark, Sakura brushed by Sasori and slammed the office door shut on both men.

* * *

><p>Pein let a small, feint smile ghost his lips. He had been privy to the behaviors right outside the door and he couldn't help but feel some amusement at Sakura's behavior. He was aware of Sasori's feelingsreactions towards her since he assigned the new medic to Sasori's team. Nothing happened in his organization that he didn't know about, however, he was pleased to see she wasn't backing down or cowering to an ass-chapped puppet.

"Haruno. I assume you have a reason for being here." Pein stated. It came out more like 'you better have a damn good reason for being in here and wasting my time'. He was sitting behind a large, imposing desk backed by ceiling to floor windows. Off to one side, Konan had her own desk, but it was less imposing and more elegant. Sakura felt a slight bit of tension relax seeing Konan work on some files.

She had finally met Konan when she was setting the ward up with Zetsu. At first, Konan had been indifferent and cold, but after talking with her for a few minutes Sakura realized that she could make a friend out of the blue haired kunochi. It seemed that Konan craved a little female interaction which Sakura didn't blame her for in the least. Sometimes Sakura would gather Ino and the other girls back home to have a girl's only night when she couldn't handle the boys anymore. One woman can only take so much testosterone sometimes.

"I actually came to request the medical files of the members. With the new ward almost complete, I would like to start reviewing everyone's health history." Sakura stated.

Pein sat for moment thinking about the request. He wasn't remotely ready to trust such sensitive information with a new recruit. However, she and Kaylina would eventually have to be shown the files, if for nothing else, because they really would need that information. The compromise was then to have both of them sit down with Itachi and go through the files committing what they could to memory. This way, if the need for the information to be erased from their minds for whatever reason ever arose, Itachi would have already set up the necessary requirements.

"You may review these files, along with Kaylina, in the presence of Itachi and at his convenience. I would suggest you commit what you see and read to memory. Once you have viewed the files, you won't be seeing them again. It's a precaution I take to insure continued security of my organization."

Sakura blinked a few times. In the presence of Itachi? The guy who crawls into peoples' minds and destroys them? The very same guy who pinned her to a bed? The same man who casually revealed he knew everything about her being here and was holding the information over her head? That guy?

And she had to memorize everything she read in one sitting?

Awesome. If this mission wasn't going to be the literal death of her, this guy would be.

"Leader-sama, I assure you that neither Kaylina or myself will be miss-using the information. I don't feel Itachi is a necessary proctor for reviewing the files."

"As you and Kaylina are new members, I will decided when, where, and how far to trust you. This is my final decision. Seeing as how you have a mission to prepare for, you are dismissed Haruno."

There was nothing left for Sakura to do but leave quietly. Back out in the hallway, she shifted her shoulders conscientiously as a new weight settled on them. Pein had made it clear that she would have to ask Itachi where the files were and when he had time to sit down with her and look through them.

'What an unpleasant prospect inner.'

'_What the hell are you complaining about? We get to be in close quarters with Itachi! This is a fucking field day!'_

'Um, no, not a field day. Did you forget that he knows the real reason why we're here? He could turn on us faster than a rabid dog. Never-mind that we have to try and remember everyone's health history.'

'_Yeah, so? He's still hot and this is really no different from the times you prepared for Tsunade's exams.'_

'Wow, I would cry for myself if anybody could truly understand what a pain you are to have around.'

'_Whatever, you love me.'_

'Only a little.'

Her musings had brought her back to the kitchen where she found Deidara with some of the leftover breakfast food. He motioned for her to sit down.

"We have a mission, un." Deidara gestured with his fork halfheartedly.

"So I gathered from Sasori. What's the mission?"

"We're going to the Land of Tea. Leader has some contacts that are supposed to be meeting us. We're to retrieve their information and bring it back, un. Pretty simple actually."

"Why need me then? The Land of Tea is hardly a rough area."

"Yeah, except that Leader wants you to start going on missions and since you're coming we have to travel through the Land of Grass, Waterfall, and Sound, un. So there is the possibility it could get rough….a little."

"That's really out of the way for going to the Land of Tea, couldn't we just cut across the Land of Fire instead?"

"We could and usually we would, but for right now, you may still have trackers after you and Kaylina. We would prefer to make this mission as low key as possible, un."

"Ah, well I can't argue with that logic even if it makes the mission super long. I'll be ready in an hour. Meet you back here?"

"Yeah."

Sakura left the kitchen and returned to her room to prepare. She wanted to make doubly sure she had extra supplies on hand. Not knowing the difference between Akatsuki missions and "normal" missions back home, she didn't feel comfortable going with the usual amount. In her mind, it was for the civilians that might be hurt, and also for a certain member who Sakura had already pegged to be somewhat like Naruto.

Very quickly she was ready to go. Extra storage scrolls were packed and secured along with food, various weather clothing, basic (non-scented of course) toiletries, and various odds and ends. A new cloak, socks, and pair of sandals waited for her on her desk and she quickly found out that her usual black attire fit perfectly. When all was said and done, the only splash of color she had on was the red clouds and her pink hair.

She paused just as she was about to pick her pack up. This would be her first mission as an Akatsuki affiliate. If she ran into anyone from Konoha, she would have to battle them. Not only to keep them "safe," but mostly to keep her secret mission intact. She sent a silent, heart-felt prayer to any God that was listening that she wouldn't meet her friends on the road. Ever.

* * *

><p>Leaving the base turned out to be as eventful as a funeral. No good lucks, no good byes, no last minute advice, no hastily, cobbled together, last minutes plans of what friends would do when she returned.<p>

Yet again Sakura knew she preferred to surround herself with friends and family whenever she could just to enjoy them. This stark, lonely existence was not something she could handle without having her mission to guide her. She instantly felt sympathy for all the members. They may have been callous, cold, and cruel before joining, but this surely hadn't helped them. No wonder they were such terrors to the rest of the world. They truly had _nothing_ to lose.

Her sympathy musings were cut short by Sasori who had been walking quietly in front of her.

"I think it's prudent that I review the conduct all members are expected to have while on missions."

'Oh yes, I just realized how silly it was to feel sorry for people like Sasori.'

'_Cool the sarcasm. He might not have always been like this.'_

'True, you do raise a good point of trying to figure out what their previous experiences have been. But, on the other hand, it's not like I need another aspect to this already impossible mission.'

'_Yeah….and it's not like I need to be bored to death up here either.'_

'If only I could.'

'_Seriously, focus. This is a golden opportunity to endear yourself to Mr. Sour-wood, don't blow this. And maybe you can find out if he has certain special parts while you're at it.'_

'Certain special parts? Are you kidding?'

'_It's strictly for professional reasons. Don't you have to know these things anyway for the medical stuff?'_

'Strictly professional, hmmm? Sure, I'll buy that.'

Deidara had been casting furtive glances between Sasori and Sakura. Since she hadn't even acknowledged Sasori's statement beyond just looking at him, Deidara was willing to bet that a fight was in the offing.

"Conduct of all members? Or do you just mean me and what you would like from me?"

"All members Haruno. I remember telling you once not to feel so special and it seems I have to remind you again."

Sakura felt her teeth grinding. Never had she thought of herself special, glorified, or entitled. Too many mistakes in the past with the embarrassing memories branded into her mind left little room for self-praise and appreciation.

When he saw that Sakura was going to keep quiet, Sasori continued.

"Under no circumstances are you to ever reveal information about our organization, its members, your thoughts, feelings, or opinions. You are never to act on your own without informing your partners beforehand, and you will do everything within your power to assure your partner's safety. You are to be calm and self-composed at all times. Should anything go wrong, simply return to your partner's side and deal with the issue swiftly. Above all, the mission is never allowed to fail."

Sasori turned his back and continued to walk forward.

As she moved to follow, Sakura glanced towards Deidara. While Sasori had been talking, the blond had occasionally rolled his eyes. She idly wondered if some members had some trouble following the "rules" and half-heartedly suspected who had issues.

* * *

><p>Considering that the last time she had been near the village proper she had been blindfolded, it was safe to say that Sakura was impressed with the bustling and bursting streets that Ame had to offer. She could now put images to impressions.<p>

It wasn't to say that Konoha didn't have busy sectors and thriving businesses, but it certainly didn't have huge metal constructs that people had strung banners across, lanterns, advertisements, and flyers or were sitting on to eat lunch and whatnot. It was a cascade of color, noise, smell (some not so pretty), and people that were vastly different from home. It was also safe to say that this wasn't a ninja district considering there were quite a few merchants and shoppers pressed cheek to jowl. She wanted to try everything, see everything, and browse until her legs fell off.

Deidara took it upon himself to point out the best joints for various foods, drinks, entertainment, and anything else that came to mind. Coming from his own village, his first forays into the market place had been somewhat intimidating and he had pitched himself into it with a mighty fervor. Now he was thankful he had. Beyond satisfying his whims, he could invite Sakura out and show her a good time. It was incredibly hard to get any other member to go with him and having a day on the town wasn't as fun by yourself as it was with a companion.

Amid the pointing and the talking at a slightly raised voice to hear, Sasori was starting to lose patience again with his two younger charges. Human contact wasn't something he desired and the market place simply was too much contact. It was something that spawned from his younger years after he had lost his parents. When parents who hugged you didn't keep their promises to return, why would anyone else? No, it was simply better not to feel.

Tersely, Sasori said, "Let's move it brats, I want to get to Tea as soon as possible."

It was something in his voice that told Sakura now was not the time to linger and play.

"I'm sorry Sasori-san. I didn't mean to cause a delay. I just haven't seen this area and was curious."

Without another word, she fell into step with Sasori.

The apology was something he hadn't expected. It put him slightly on edge. It wasn't an apology like Tobi often gave which was always high-pitched, irritating, and you knew he didn't mean it. It wasn't like an apology from Deidara either that left Sasori feeling slightly superior. It had sounded like a heart-felt, honest apology and he had long quit working with anyone who was honest or felt with his or her heart. Thus, it put him on edge.

The trio quickly left the village and began racing across the tree tops towards Wind. For the most part the journey was silent with Deidara and Sakura having a conversation every so often. Mostly the conversations centered on what they liked, what they thought of so-and-so, where they had been, what missions had totally sucked ass, which had rocked.

Through these little chit-chats, Sakura was secretly doing a small happy dance. She hadn't figured that Deidara would be as tough as someone like Pein or Zetsu to get personal information out of, but holy Kami if he wasn't just handing her one gold nugget after another. Not that she didn't feel a slight pang of guilt considering that under different circumstances she would most likely have been friends with him.

The day quickly started to turn to dusk and finding some place to camp for the night became a priority. For no discernible reason, Sasori was rejecting soft meadows, nicely covered copses, and banks besides gentle flowing streams. Of course the guy who is numb from the brain down would pick a particular spot that contained snarled tree roots, nice-fisted sized rocks, and some regal looking twig bushes that were sure to scratch and poke an unsuspecting ninja.

Bloody, fucking perfect in other words.

The only bright spot in the camp's location and decoration were those twiggy bushes which proved sufficient kindling for starting a fire. At least it was warm and the clouds that threatened rain had been left behind.

With night overhead and the air warm, Sakura felt herself relax slightly. It was something like being on a mission with the boys back home. Except for the fact that Sakura might be sitting next to Kakashi who would've thrown an arm around her shoulders lazily. Naruto and Sai may or may not have been bickering and she would either be refereeing or reading a medical text.

When she thought about it like that, there was a huge difference between then and now consequently sending the good feelings fleeing. These two men weren't her boys, weren't her lover, and weren't here for her support. And neither cared about her.

'_On the brightside sugar, it ain't pissing down rain, cold enough to freeze a man's balls off, nor hot enough to sweat Tsunade's boobs a cup smaller.'_

'You have the loveliest analogies, don't you?'

'_I'm striving for humor and you're a kill joy. What person can succeed under these conditions?'_

'Shut. Up.'

'_Get. Laid.'_

With that last remark, Sakura rolled over to Deidara and silently began to observe the bomber. Not to "get laid" of course. As she had begun to catalogue all the member's features, these particular opportunities afforded a chance to also observe behavior. Thankfully he wasn't like Hidan or Kakuzu (who both had damn near ripped her head off for merely looking) and was content to let her stare at him.

Sasori wasn't so happy with the staring. The girl's behavior constantly perplexed him. Being perplexed wasn't something Sasori was comfortable with and he strained to understand why. Surely he hadn't been out of contact with other humans so much so that he had lost basic social skills. No, that wasn't it. Maybe it was the idea of her innate curiosity coupled with her flippancy that confused him? Maybe, but it was more than that too. Potentially it had something to do with her open heart and expression? Most likely.

It was odd in his mind that a girl of her age who claimed to have left her village, survived for a time on her own, still retained a trustfulness that "sheltered" individuals usually had. It was like a setup for false security except that Sakura wasn't stupid enough to let her guard down. Not by anything Sasori had seen. She constantly seemed poised on her toes for anything. Whether it was a chit-chat with Deidara, a rude remark towards Hidan's biting insults, or a blatant backhand to anyone who was inappropriate.

Without it making any sense, Sasori dropped his thinking. If the kunochi hid ulterior motives, they would be flushed out eventually. His immediate issue appeared to be a beginning "infatuation" between his two younger partners.

Deidara was having no such problem. The low light of the fire was reflected back somewhat in Sakura's eyes. Not that he was a soppy romantic, but he silently mused that this might be a romantic moment if he so cared to use it as such. On the other hand, it seemed more natural to have Sakura laugh rather than spout clichés. She was so easy to talk to and she genuinely seemed interested in him!

"So….you're going to stare at me the entire night or what, un?"

"Entire night, definitely. I figure since I've already been staring for some time, I might as well earn all my creepy points at one go. Hope you don't mind." Sakura quipped and settled herself more comfortably to continue the staring.

Deidara grinned showing white even teeth and rubbed his neck with one hand. On some levels he felt par for par with this woman, on others he felt out of his league. Always she had a quip, always. In some instances, it felt like she was toying with him which made him nervous. He didn't want to be a thing/person that she threw away when she was done.

When Deidara didn't respond, Sakura felt a small knot of nervousness bind in her stomach. She hoped he hadn't taken her seriously about the creeper thing. That would be really awkward and the silence that was stretching between them now was not helping.

"You know I was kidding right?" Sakura asked.

"What? Oh yeah, I don't think you really could be a creeper anyways un. I'm pretty sure that isn't your style."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm just saying that I don't think your style affords you stealth un. I'm not saying you can't be stealthy when need be, but you definitely aren't like Itachi or Kakuzu. You're like me!" Mentally, Deidara patted himself on the back for his save.

"I think I'll take that as a compliment." Sakura said slowly. She offered a small smile.

"I think it is more than past time to go to bed. We will leave early in the morning and as I don't need sleep I can continue without issues. I don't think that either of you two can afford to spend your energies in such a way, so stop talking." By the end of his statement, Sasori was already kicking dirt onto the fire extinguishing any light save the stars.

Without any protests (any that were audible), Deidara and Sakura rolled over into their sleeping bags.

* * *

><p>The next morning, after dawn saying hello, the trio set out at a brisk pace. At the pace they had set, it would be a day to reach the Land of Grass, three days to travel though Grass and reach the Land of Waterfall, one day of complete rest, another three days to reach the Land of Sound and then a final set of three days to reach the Land of Tea.<p>

Internally, Sakura blessed Tsunade for her training. Had she not been a medic, this would have been deemed too much for her to handle under her own power alone. Being able to repair muscle damage and wipe away fatigue were going to become critical assets for her on this mission. She wondered how Deidara would cope.

After the first day of straight running, Sakura fully realized that after being with the Akatsuki, she wouldn't ever have to worry about stamina again. She had found out from Deidara that Sasori was traveling slower than usual as a sort of precaution for her safety. They didn't know where she was in her training, but as Deidara explained, when every member had joined (with the exception of a Kisame, Kakuzu, and Sasori), there had been some "intense" training required. Mostly endurance and stamina.

About the second day, when the trio had just entered the Land of Grass, Sakura became aware of a new tension beside her leg muscles. Dread was building in her shoulders from potentially running into "old" teammates and she was determined not to reveal anything to Sasori or Deidara. If she had truly defected, she must appear something between eager and non-caring about the potential encounters. Certainly not dreading or concerned.

On the third day of travel, her leg muscles were casually reminding her that they, in fact, did support her weight and movement, and they could quit doing so if she continued to push them much further. With late stops and early rises, her body simply wasn't replenishing nor relaxing overnight like it would normally do. Granted, healing her legs every night was helping somewhat, but the human body was only made to do so much and hers' just wasn't up to par yet.

It would be on day four of their travel when Sakura finally decided she should say something about her state of being. Between the nervousness, the tiredness, the lowering levels of energy, and the straight running, she wasn't going to hold out much longer. They were a little more than two thirds through the Land of Grass and Sasori was steadily growing impatient with the lack of speed.

"Hey guys?" She spoke tentatively.

"Yeah, un?"

"I need a rest." Sakura looked at the back of Sasori's head (since he was in front).

Sasori stopped on a wide branch and turned to face her. He could see the effort on her face from having to keep up. Normally, ninja squads would pace themselves slowly and take adequate rests whenever needed. Akatsuki wasn't near normal. He was slightly surprised she hadn't spoken earlier, but suspected that it had something to do with the healing she performed on her legs whenever they stopped. Without a word, he nodded.

Sakura immediately dropped to the forest floor and began to push healing chakra into her legs starting at the top of her thighs. She noted that she was burning reserves of fat faster than normal and she was happy for an instant. This would be a great way to get great looking legs.

However, the pain and the microscopic tearing tempered that happiness a great deal. She couldn't keep going or she would be facing torn ligments and tendons. Nothing she couldn't fix in a heartbeat, but she knew that once ripped they would take weeks to regain the strength they had before ripping.

Deidara began to setup camp with a slightly more permanent and comfortable feeling. He didn't want Sakura to rush herself nor her healing and personally thought that a few minutes spent now would save hours potentially spent later trying to fix things that hadn't been originally addressed.

Sasori observed Sakura and her process. He remembered the first time Deidara had struggled with a mission like this and the brat had complained non-stop. Moreover, with Deidara they had stopped a day previous compared to Sakura. Sasori felt a slight bit of appreciation towards the girl since she had kept quiet and was taking care of the issue before it really slowed them down.

"Is there anything I can do for you, un?" Deidara asked as he passed a full canteen of water.

"Not really, I just need to eat a little and then replenish spent chakra. I'm really sorry I'm slowing us down." Sakura then drank greedily from the bottle.

"Don't worry about it un. Everyone at some point has to slow down and do what they need to. The Land of Tea isn't going anywhere either un."

"True enough brat, but our contacts will be. How long will it take for you to be back up to par?" Sasori asked.

"Just today and tonight. Then we can resume our pace tomorrow."

Sasori thought for moment. Even if she was golden tomorrow, which he knew she wouldn't be, this would happen again and they were working on a deadline. As Pein had explained to them extensively, if they weren't on time to meet the contacts, the contacts would assume something had gone wrong and destroy the scroll. That scroll was vital to Pein and therefore, this mission could not fail.

"Sakura, can you use your healing skills to merge and feed your chakra into another person so they could use it?" Sasori asked.

"Um yeah, but it has some side effects and sometimes it might not work. It depends on the donor and as well as the recipient. What are you thinking?"

"I want Deidara to create a bird big enough but also light and fast to cover as much ground as possible and get us to the Land of Tea as soon as possible. We'll be cutting through the Land of Fire after all, but I want to make doubly sure we aren't seen. Therefore, he's going to need your help."

The two younger shinobi thought this over with occasional glances in the other's direction. As far as Sakura was concerned, there were only the logistics to be concerned about and that'd be sorted out right quick before anything could happened.

Deidara was contemplating the type of clay and design he would need. He also was wondering how it would feel to have a another person's chakra run through his system.

Finally, with decisive nods, the two stood up and silently began their separate techniques. Soon a large, shallow bird was ready and Sakura had created a rope of chakra looping it around Deidara's core in which to feed her own.

She was surprised at the steadiness of his chakra and the limit. For such a wide variety of art, she had assumed he would have vast amounts akin to Kisame, but in fact, he had no more than Kakashi. She wondered if they would have enough chakra between the two of them.

Deidara felt Sakura's chakra like a warm, comforting aura inside of him. She had just about the same amount as he did which wasn't a surprise. He calculated that they had just the right amount to reach the Land of Tea, but they would barely have enough for anything beyond that without rest.

Sasori was glad that Sakura had such ability as feeding one's chakra into another. He had been concerned for a moment that she might not know such a technique and then he or Deidara would have been reduced to carrying her. This way was faster and much more dignified.

"Alright, let's go and I want you brats to concentrate. I will keep a look out while we fly."

"Sasori-san?"

"Yes, Haruno?"

"How long will it take us to get there by bird?"

"Deidara, how long?"

"One long day without stops or breaks, un. Two days easy with a stop for nightfall."

"Is it safe to fly during the night?" Sakura asked.

"It's the best time un! I would almost suggest waiting till then before we take off."

"No, we're leaving now and we'll just have to skirt around potential problems. I trust you can do that without throwing your so called art at them, Deidara."

"So called art un? My art is the greatest. You're puppetts are a lesser form, un. For all your talk of eternal beauty."

"Eternal beauty is a concept that will always elude you and your "art is a bang" is a sad illusion that will never take root."

"While your puppetts maybe a form of art for you, un, it's you who doesn't understand true art. True art was never made to last more than the moment of it's existence un."

Sakura stood by and watched the two artists, as she had now dubbed them, bicker back and forth. Their main beef between each other was art? Not politics, not fighting techniques, not even books – just art. She relaxed slightly and stepped away. This seemed to be one of those things that would take a couple of minutes to finish and she certainly wasn't in a hurry. On top of that, it was interesting to see what made these two S-class criminals tick.

After about five minutes of various, thinly veiled insults and great conceptional discussions, Sasori had had enough. They were on a time schedule, Deidara and Sakura were burning through needed chakra, and the brat just wouldn't get it. It was time to move.

"Enough brat. We're leaving and we can't afford to waste any more effort standing around. Sakura, please stay close to Deidara and monitor him while we fly."

"Hai, Sasori."

As the trio positioned themselves on the bird, the easy and fluidity of the animal amazed Sakura. For such a large object, she had expected it to move in a bulky, clumsy sort of way, but that wasn't happening. The speed was impressive and the flight was beautiful. Except for the cold air rushing over her, she enjoyed looking at everything from a birds' eye view. The forest was a steady ribbon of green curving with small streams inside it. The grass lands that weaved in and out were a stark contrast to the dense forest and Sakura appreciated all of it.

For hours the trio flew in silence. The speed of the bird made shouting, nevermind talking, impossible and as the journey continued, both Deidara and Sakura began to feel the effects of their energy spending. On the other hand, they had already reached the half point of Fire country and there was still plenty of daylight left.

Remembering that it was Fire country made Sakura's heart leap into her throat. If she really wanted, she could ask Deidara to set the bird down on some silly pretense and run right back to Konoha. She could easily explain to Tsunade why she couldn't continue and get word to Kaylina to vanish and come home. And the best part would be that nobody would blame her once she explained what had been going on.

The idea was tempting, but she thought of Naruto's face when he had learned the Akatsuki were targeting other people just like him. Somewhere between the outrage, the concern, and the determination, she had stood back in awe of him and realized that he needed protection too. As much as he was throwing himself in front of others, defending and befriending, he also needed someone to cover his back and watch out for him.

So she pumped more chakra into Deidara and silently willed him to pour more speed on so she could out run her temptation.

* * *

><p>Some time after midnight, the trio finally stepped off the bird. Without the support of chakra, the bird disappeared and Deidara heaved a sigh of relief. He was exhausted from spending damn near all his chakra and one look at Sakura showed she was in no better shape. On the brightside of things, they were days ahead of schedule, in the Land of Tea, and most importantly, had landed just outside of a small village.<p>

"Hey Sasori-sama?" Deidara braced himself on his knees, hoping against hope that Sasori would consent to a night in a hotel.

"Yes?"

"Can we spend the night in the village, un? I'm dead on my feet and Sakura-san is no better. We've gained the time we lost plus extra, un."

Sasori almost said no as there could be the potential for the contacts to be here, but the potential was small and he had two incredibly tired shinobi on his hands.

"We can spend the night in a hotel –"

"Yes! Thank you so much!" Sakura gushed through her fatigue.

"Let me finish. We can spend the night in a hotel, provided no one leaves the premises and no one causes trouble. The instant I even catch a hint of a whisper something might be wrong, we are leaving instantly." Sasori finished with a glare at the two.

"Hai, Sasori."

"Reverse your cloaks before we enter the village proper. No use in announcing ourselves before we have to." Sasori explained.

"Do you expect trouble here?" Sakura asked.

"Not really, but then again, I suspect trouble wherever I go. Better to be prepared rather than sorry."

True words if she had ever heard them. With a flourish, her cloak was reversed and she was pleased to find that it still fitted well without seams showing. Clearly the Akatsuki spent some type of money on appearance.

The village wasn't spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, but it was cute and offered three travel weary ninja a place to stay and warm food to eat. In a show of gentlemanly conduct, Sasori purchased two rooms for a night and a day. One for Sakura and one for him and Deidara.

"Thank Sasori, you didn't have to do that. I have spent countless nights in worse company."

Sasori smirked. "Considering that we are far from Ame and that many people here are likely to gossip, I would rather avoid unpleasant implications that might impede our progress. Good night Haruno."

With that, Sasori entered one room and disappeared. It was just as Sakura was turning away for her own room that she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning back, she found herself looking into a pair of blue eyes.

"I wanted to thank you today for working with me. We couldn't have gotten this far so quickly without your help."

"There's really nothing to be thanking me for, I just did what anyone would have done."

The comment made Deidara chuckle.

"No one in this group would have bothered, so thanks Sakura."

Deidara followed Sasori into the room and closed the door. Sakura was left in the hallway, thinking over his last words.

'No one would have bothered? For real? Sasori said that the rules said the mission couldn't fail, how would "not helping" achieve the end goal?'

'_To them, it's probably about being completely and totally self-sufficient. Helping probably is slung around like an insult, princess.'_

'So what happens when I go to heal one or offer a hand with something? I get into a fight?'

'_Maybe, or maybe they'll like you more for it and you can land a boyfriend. That'd be nice.'_

'Thank you for staying focused. We have just learned another facet to the dynamics in this organization and you are wondering about boyfriends. Thank you.'

'Well someone has to, Ms. Dynamics. You figure out how these people interact and work together or lack there of, and I will concern myself with getting you laid and removing the stick from your ass. We'll be a great team together.'

Sakura rolled her eyes at herself and headed for the shower.

* * *

><p>Well, that's chapter 7 for you and I hope you liked it. Especially the Sasori, Deidara fans. They aren't one of my favorite pairings, but I will do my best with them for you, my lovely readers.<p>

As always, if you feel like you might have been sucker punched with crap while reading the story, let me know and I will go back and fix it.

A heart-felt shout out to Lexypink for your awesome and encouraging emails. Thank you so much!

If you were one of those people who was spammed awhile back with emails informing you that I was doing stuff – I AM SO TERRIBLY SORRY! I keep forgetting that I do not have to post something in order to upload it to the site and I just slammed you poor people. And the worst part? I can't promise that won't happen again.


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